


Just (More Than) Friends

by gwenleewrites



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: #adrinetteapril2019, Adrinette, Adrinetteapril2019, Aged Up, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendzone, Hormonal Teenagers, Ladiren - Freeform, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Marinette Dupain-Cheng - Freeform, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Romance, Sexual Tension, Teen Angst, adrien agreste - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2020-01-16 16:29:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 20,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18525307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwenleewrites/pseuds/gwenleewrites
Summary: "Truth or dare?" Nino asked him, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at his friend.The question was a dangerous one, that was something he knew for sure, but he was the one who got himself in this mess in the first place. Adrien was the one who had chosen to come to Kim's party and have fun and... sit in this circle that he hadn't realized involved spilling your secrets or doing some crazy action that would surely embarrass you.He mulled over his options. He didn't really have anything to hide, so he went with the safe choice."Truth," he replied with a smirk."If you had to sleep with one girl in this room, who would it be?"





	1. Just Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is asked a loaded question, and he seems to think Marinette is his way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this was not my original intention, but as I’m writing these chapters I’ve realized this is pure crack and I’m writing whatever I want to happen without really thinking about plot lmao. Enjoy this crack. Happy reading.

"Truth or dare?" Nino asked him, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at his friend.

The question was a dangerous one, that was something he knew for sure, but he was the one who got himself in this mess in the first place. Adrien was the one who had chosen to come to Kim's party and have fun and... sit in this circle that he hadn't realized involved spilling your secrets or doing some crazy action that would surely embarrass you. 

He mulled over his options. He didn't really have anything to hide, so he went with the safe choice. 

"Truth," he replied with a smirk. 

"If you had to sleep with one girl in this room, who would it be?" 

Adrien's smirk vanished. He was not expecting that. 

As a newly turned eighteen-year old it wasn't like he'd never been exposed to this concept, but that didn't mean it wasn't embarrassing. He'd never even given much thought to it before... unless he was thinking about his superhero partner. But, that was not the point.

"What kind of question is that?" Adrien blushed crimson, refusing to make eye contact with any of the females in the room. 

"Just answer it, buddy," Nino said, while everyone in the room seemed to be laser focused on him and what he was going to say. 

“And if I don’t?” 

“You’ll hold the title of class coward!” Kim shouted from across the circle. Of course Kim would never fail to remind him of that.

Feeling spurred, Adrien glanced around the room looking at his options. He quickly skipped Alya, there was no way he’d ever do that to Nino. He also glazed over Rose and Juleka because they were involved with each other and he wasn’t gonna mess with that. Even if it was hypothetical. 

He looked at Alix, who was currently glaring daggers at him, which seemed to be a clear sign that she was certainly not a choice. So, he ended up being left with Lila and Chloe. They seemed to be staring expectantly at him, like they both truly believed they were going to picked. The thought of sleeping with either one of them made Adrien feel uneasy. 

“Do they _have_ to be in this room?” Adrien asked sheepishly. 

“Pretty much everyone’s here,” Nino laughed. 

Adrien thought about that, he was pretty sure someone was missing. 

“Marinette actually happens to be away on vacation right now,” Alya piped in, much to Adrien’s relief. 

It would be much easier to say he’d rather sleep with someone if they weren’t in the room currently. 

“So you’d sleep with Marinette?” Nino asked, slowly and deliberately emphasizing her name. 

“Yeah!” Adrien chirped back, not really thinking about the question, just glad to get out of an uncomfortable situation. As long as she wasn’t here, he wouldn’t have to say anything like this face to face. 

Besides, it’s not like he really wanted to sleep with Marinette. 

They were just friends.


	2. Seat Buddies

Marinette was back from vacation the next day.

Just his luck. 

Not that he wasn’t happy to see his friend again, but he was pretty sure someone was going to tell her about what had transpired the previous night. 

If she did find out, he hoped she wouldn’t think he was a total pervert. These were the thoughts that overtook him while he walked to class after seeing her chatting with Alya by the steps. When he stepped into class, his friends seemed different. They all exchanged glances with each other and seemed to whisper back and forth too quietly for him to understand. 

Adrien decided to ignore them, and instead he sat down at his desk and waited for class to start. 

But, when his best friend strolled into class with a sly smile, he knew something was up. Instead of taking a seat next to the blonde haired teen like usually did, Nino sat behind him, in Marinette’s usual seat. 

That was weird. 

“Hey Nino, did you want me to come sit with you?” Adrien asked, prepared to grab his messenger bag and move.

“No dude,” Nino answered, “I just wanted to sit with my girl today, that’s all.”

Adrien blinked. “Okay, but then that means I have to sit with—“

”Marinette!” Nino cut him off, when the girl in question walked in with Alya by her side. “Welcome back from vacation, how was China?”

”Beautiful,” Marinette sighed, “but, it’s good to see you all again.” 

Alya scrambled to her seat beside her boyfriend, and Marinette scrunched up her nose in confusion. 

“You’ll have to sit with me today, Marinette,” Adrien spoke up shyly. “Nino wants to sit with Alya.”

Marinette looked surprised, but not unhappy. “Okay, well first time for everything right?” 

He shot her a grateful smile. “Right.”

Suddenly, Kim’s voice rang out from the back of the classroom. “Careful there Marinette, if you sit there, Agreste might jump your bones!” 


	3. Embarrassing

Adrien was mortified. 

This is exactly what he had been trying to avoid this entire time. 

He said her name because she wasn’t there, and she found out anyway. 

Just great. 

After Kim’s outbursts, the jokes kept coming. People would say Adrien was trying to cop a feel under the table, or that he was hiding a boner with his messenger bag (that just happened to be placed over his lap at the time) so Marinette wouldn’t see it. 

When lunch rolled around he asked to talk to her in private, but he couldn’t even pull her away without getting suggestive whistles and cat call noises from his classmates. Even Nino seemed to be enjoying this. 

“So, I want to apologize for what everyone’s been saying all day,” Adrien told her when they were alone by the bathrooms. 

“Why are you apologizing? They’re the ones teasing you, for no good reason! I’m sorry that you have to go through all this,” Marinette responded with a sympathetic frown. 

Oh Marinette. Sweet Marinette who was too good for her own good. It was hard to believe that she used to not be able to form coherent sentences around him a couple years ago. Being one of the bravest and fairest people he knew. She certainly had no problem talking to him now, but he didn’t want her to think less of him for what he’d said at the party.

Adrien scratched the back of his neck out of embarrassment. “Funny story actually, it’s not really for _no_ reason...”

Marinette tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“At Kim’s party yesterday we were playing truth or dare, and I got asked who I would sleep with in the class if I had to choose one person and I couldn’t bare to say anyone’s name face to face! But, you happened to not be there so I kinda said... you?”

”Oh,” she said back. 

“Oh?” Adrien repeated. “You’re not mad?”

”N-No,” she replied. 

Why was she stuttering? 

“If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you—“

”Answer the question.”

Adrien froze. “Huh?”

”If you had to sleep with one person in the class, who would it be?”

Oh Marinette. Sweet Marinette... who was not as sweet as he thought. He could not believe she was putting him on the spot like this, he’d never expected her to ask him a question so blunt. 

“That’s really hard,” he laughed, “I mean, what if someone asked _you_ that? What would you say?”

“You,” she responded simply.

“See? It’s a touch choice! You couldn’t answer—wait did you just say me?” 

“Y-Yeah,” her stutter was back and Adrien was blushing so hard right now. 

“I didn’t realize—“

”Could you answer the question now, please?” Marinette cut him off, and he realized she was actually very vulnerable right now. After a confession like that he’d feel embarrassed too. 

“Um,” he stalled, racking his brain for some sort of excuse he could give. 

“Maybe just say the first name that pops into your head?”

”I—“

“You know what? Forget it, I can’t believe I actually asked you that or even told you my answer. Please forget this ever happened, and don’t worry I’m not mad at you,” Marinette said with a duck of her head, before walking away too fast for him to stop her.

”Marinette,” slipped out before he could think further, and he wasn’t sure if he was calling out to her or answering her question.


	4. Hide Me

“If you could hide me that would be great!” Adrien yelled, barreling into the front entrance of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. 

“Adrien?” Marinette asked incredulously. 

“Oh good, Marinette please hide me somewhere, they’re coming!” Adrien pleaded, and both teenagers could hear the screams of his fangirls close by. 

With instinct kicking in, Marinette grabbed his hand and pulled him into the pantry behind the counter and locked the door once they were both inside.

Marinette flipped the light switch on, but it was only enough to see the outline of their faces. “Oh, shoot. I forgot to change the lightbulb,” the baker’s daughter muttered to herself. 

“Thanks,” he told her, “I would’ve been dead if it wasn’t for you.”

”I can see it now. Rest In Peace Adrien Agreste, death by fangirls,” Marinette teased with a smile. 

He laughed softly in the dim lighting, and just then noticed how the pantry was not as big as he thought it was. She was only a few inches away from him at this point, he could smell her perfume. 

“So, I know that you’re a teen model and everything, but why are the fans extra rabid today?” 

Adrien blushed, thankful she couldn’t see his face clear enough to notice. “I recently did... an underwear photo shoot that may have involved some rather suggestive poses.”

She didn’t reply immediately. 

“Marinette?”

”Huh? Oh, uh, ha that makes sense then.” 

“Yeah, Nino says they all just wanna sleep with me,” Adrien joked, but then he stopped when he heard Marinette cough and he realized that he’d brought up a sensitive topic. 

He had almost forgotten about last week outside the bathrooms.

”About what I said,” Marinette started. 

“It’s okay!” Adrien chuckled nervously, “you said that if you had to choose one person it would be me, not that you just randomly want to sleep with me...”

”Right!” Marinette agreed awkwardly. “Because it’s not like I think about sleeping with you, or anything...”

Their words died into awkward silence and he swore he could feel the tension radiating off of her.

”Yeah! And it’s not like I’ve thought about sleeping with you... but I shouldn’t have said that cause now it’s even weirder.”

An image of him sleeping with Marinette popped into his brain before he pushed it out faster than you could say spots on. 

What was wrong with him? 

Next time, he wouldn’t ask Marinette to hide him because it wasn’t good for his mental health. 


	5. Clumsy

“I think the coast is clear,” Marinette whispered. 

“Oh, uh yeah,” Adrien whispered back, relieved and oddly disappointed at the same time. 

“Here I’ll get the door,” she told him. Her hand reached for the knob, and the light that spilled in made him adjust his eyes accordingly. 

“After you,” Marinette said, and he shot her a smile before walking out, but apparently his eyes were still hazy and he tripped on Marinette’s foot before grasping for anything to hold onto before he hit the floor. 

That thing ended up being Marinette’s arm and they fell to the ground with a thud, her body sprawled on top of his. 

That model grace was really paying off right now. 

“Ow,” he groaned, and Marinette poked her head up to stare at the young man. 

Their faces were way too close. She scrambled off before they even finished blushing. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry Marinette! I’ve been nothing but inconvenient for you this past week and—are you laughing?”

She was indeed, laughing. At him, he presumed. 

“I’m sorry,” she snorted. “I’m usually the clumsy one though, and seeing Adrien Agreste fall is just, oh man I never thought I’d see it. Cause I fall all the time, and curse my luck I fall in front of you all the time so this isn’t really bad for me! But, for you, my gosh—“

”Okay, I get it,” he mumbled bitterly. He never realized that Marinette could be so... mean. Not that his feelings were hurt, because he’s tougher than that, but he always thought she was completely made up of everything nice. 

The more you know...

 “Sorry!” Marinette said a little too loud, trying to shut herself up by plastering on a straight face. “That was rude of me.”

He was surprised at how fast she could switch. But, he started realizing that maybe he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. If he didn’t even know she had a teasing side to her. As bruised as his ego was, he kind of liked seeing a different side of Marinette. It intrigued him, he wanted to know more. 

If she’d let him. He’d been a nuisance recently so he wasn’t really sure how she saw him these days.

”Did you two just come out of that pantry?” 

The hairs on the back of Adrien’s neck stood up and he realized that that voice belonged to Marinette’s father, who was now staring at Adrien with an intensity he had not ever received. 

“Yes,” Adrien answered, waiting for the baker’s reaction. 

“And you were alone with my daughter?”

”Papa—“

”Wait, Marinette,” her dad said.

”We didn’t do anything!” Adrien assured the man. “I would never do anything with your daughter! We’re just friends I swear!” 

Marinette frowned suddenly, but didn’t say anything, and Adrien wondered if he’d said something to upset her.

”N-Not that Marinette isn’t an attractive young woman,” he rambled, “I just would never think of her that way or disrespect her—“

”Papa, nothing happened,” Marinette snapped, seemingly more angry at him than her father though, based on the way she was staring at Adrien. “He was hiding from some fangirls and I was lending him our pantry, that’s it.”

”Okay,” her father replied, “thank you for clearing that up.”

”Yeah,” Marinette muttered, “besides we’re just friends...”

Adrien swore she looked disappointed.


	6. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets and sex dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: the constant element of this story is plotholes lmao. This story is very rushed and just for fun. Not everything is gonna be perfect... but I’m having fun messing with these two dorks. I also made Adrien and Marinette so OC it’s not even funny so I’m sorry lol.

The next time Adrien was alone with her, it was an accident. 

He never actually realized that they locked the school from the outside at night. Otherwise he never would’ve come in the first place. But, Adrien had snuck in (thinking he could sneak out) and was looking for some books on physics in the library when he heard the click. 

Curiously, he walked briskly to the front door and, with no luck, the doors did not open. He attempted every side exit he knew of, and that didn’t work either. And of course, what kind of cliche, almost unbelievable situation would this be without his phone dying right then and there? 

The blonde haired boy considered transforming right then and there and vaulting from the courtyard on the roof and getting the hell out of here. 

But, a familiar voice stopped him. 

“Adrien?” Marinette called meekly, and Adrien spun around to see her standing in the hallway of the school with an oversized sweatshirt and some comfy looking joggers. 

It was kind of adorable. 

In a... friendly way.

”Marinette, uh what are you doing here?” Adrien asked. 

“Well, I was gonna stay after school to study... but I kind of fell asleep behind my desk and I guess no one saw me.”

”Is your phone—“

”Dead. Sorry.”

Adrien smiled wryly. Of course it was dead. 

“Well... I guess we’re stuck here,” he sighed, a little bit frustrated he couldn’t transform with her around. But, Adrien would also never leave her here alone.

”Wanna go to the roof?” Marinette suggested. “I hear it’s beauitful up there at night.” 

The offer sounded very appealing, and he had nothing else to do. “Sure,” he answered with a soft smile. 

When they made it up to the courtyard, he registered that it was, in fact, beautiful. The sky was actually twinking with stars and he’d never been here at this time to see this before. 

“Wow,” he breathed. 

“Yeah,” Marinette agreed, craning her neck up to look in amazement at the night sky. 

They made their way to one the benches and sat down side by side. Her fingers brushed against his for a millisecond before she scooted an inch away. She did it subtly enough so he couldn’t tell if she had even realized their fingers touched. 

“I gusss we’ve got nothing to do, huh?” Adrien laughed nervously, shuffling his feet on the ground. 

Marinette hummed in disagreement. “Not necessarily, we could do anything.”

”Like what?”

”Tell me a secret,” she told him. “And then I’ll tell you one too.”

“Isn’t that kind of risky?”

”Only if you’ve got something risky to hide,” she answered with an unfamiliar lilt in her voice that made Adrien want to lean in closer and listen to it again. 

“And it stays between us?” Adrien asked.

”Promise,” she replied, sticking her pinky out for him. He laughed, but connected their pinkies and curled his around hers anyway, sealing the commitment. 

“Okay... I’ve never kissed a girl,” he told her, turning to look at the ground. 

“Me neither,” Marinette quipped with a grin. 

“Oh aren’t you hilarious,” he said sarcastically, while she couldn’t help the giggle that slipped past her lips. 

“I’m surprised though, I mean you could probably kiss any girl you wanted,” Marinette spoke with a neutral tone. 

His mind flashed to Ladybug. “You’d be surprised...”

”I appreciate your honesty,” she said sincerely. “Now, for my secret... I uh, have had... asexdreamaboutChatNoir.”

”What? I didn’t hear you.”

Marinette took a deep breath. “I’ve... had a sex dream about Chat Noir.”

“You’ve what?!” Adrien spluttered. 

“Calm down,” she snapped, “it’s not like I’m talking about you.”

If she only knew... 

The thought of Marinette dreaming of sleeping with him was... _woah_. He wondered what happened in the dream... if he was any good? He wondered what she made him do in the dream. He wondered if—

—he was going to burn in Hell for thinking of his friend like that.

“Yeah, but... he’s a superhero!” Adrien yelled to get his mind out of that dark and dirty gutter.

“Which makes it less weird, it’s like having a celebrity crush.”

”Except it’s a sex dream...”

”Okay, yeah except for that part.”

”Do you,” Adrien gulped, “have feelings for Chat Noir?”

Marinette shook her head slowly. “He’s a great guy, don’t get me wrong and obviously I find him super attractive. But... I like someone else.”

”Oh,” Adrien said. He was confused on how he felt about that. 

“I can’t believe you’ve had sex dreams... about Chat Noir,” he muttered in a daze.

”I said one sex dream,” she mumbled with pink cheeks. “And I’m a teenage girl, Adrien.”

”Okay, that’s fair.”

Something was so different about Marinette in this moment, maybe she felt more comfortable with him in this moment. Why else would she share something so personal? Maybe she was just that bored.

”I shouldn’t have said that oh my god, now you’re gonna think I’m some pervert,” she whined in embarrassment. 

“No!” Adrien denied, “we all get... those kinds of dreams.”

”You’ve had sex dreams?” Marinette questioned curiously.

“I mean... yeah?”

”Oh,” she said.

”This secret thing is really making me feel super exposed right now,” Adrien admitted. 

“Yeah, I should really stop telling you everything...” Marinette said more to herself than to him. 

“But, it’s kind of fun,” he told her.

”Yeah?”

”Yeah, we should keep going.”

”Okay, sure.”

”Could you describe in vivid detail what happened in this dream? I need to know for research purposes—“

”Screw you,” she spat. 

“Well... you certainly screwed Chat Noir in that wet dream of yours~”

”Fuck you.”

”You did that too—“

”I used to actually think you were nice,” Marinette hissed, but a small giggle followed it, and he knew she liked the teasing more than she’d admit.

Adrien made a mental note to himself that Marinette, sweet Marinette, had sex dreams and cussed just like the rest of them.

Huh. The more you know.


	7. Sweet Tooth

“Here,” she said to him during lunch, hands placed in front of her with a large paper bag held by her fingers. 

“What is it?” Adrien asked, taking it from her with a curious smile. 

“A thank you present,” Marinette replied nonchalantly. 

With his interest peaked, Adrien opened up the paper bag, and peered inside. The contents of the bag were none other than  colorful macarons. The delightful scent invaded his nose and he swore his pupils dilated. He suddenly felt Marinette staring awkwardly at him, so he shut the bag and forced a laugh. 

“Thank you,” he said, “but what exactly are you thanking me for?”

Marinette ducked her head with a slight blush. ”For not leaving me alone the other day, when we were locked in the school.”

”Well, you didn’t leave me alone either...” Adrien pointed out, and she hummed in something that he took as agreement.

The bluenette pulled nervously at the ends of her pigtails. “I also noticed that you always look at the food I bring from my parents bakery like you’re starving, and I figured it was no big deal to bring you a few.”

The teen model felt his heart swell. Here was the sweet side of Marinette that he saw the most often, the side that made him wonder how someone could be so good. It was crazy to think she had angrily directed cuss words at him a couple days ago. She was... interesting. She always had piqued his interest because there was so much he didn’t know. But, he was starting to understand more.

”I didn’t mean to stare at your food,” he joked, “but the fact that you noticed... you’re one of the nicest people I know.”

“I’d hardly say that,” Marinette argued. “It was no trouble at all to just grab some and head over here.”

“Which is exactly what a super nice person would say,” he countered, and she rolled her eyes, but bit back a grin. 

“Fine, I’m an angel,” she played along, “I don’t know how I could possibly be so kind.”

”Sarcasm doesn’t fit this persona,” Adrien told her with a mock pout.

”Maybe this persona you have in your head is just what you want me to be,” Marinette quipped with a raised eyebrow.

”I just want you to be yourself,” he replied. “Nothing else.”

”Good to know,” her voice softly said back. 

Though... Adrien wasn’t sure who she really was to begin with. But, he certainly wanted to find out.


	8. A Favor Only You Can Do

“You want me to do what?” Marinette asked. 

“Go shopping,” he told her, “with me.”

”Like a—“

”Not a date!” Adrien quickly assured her. “Sorry, I don’t want you to think I’m trying to come on to you and be rude or anything.” 

“Right,” Marinette said with a smile that seemed fake. “You’d never do that.”

”I—“

”Shopping sounds fun,” her voice cut him off sharply. “But, why are you asking me?”

Adrien shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged nervously. “My father is finally letting me buy some clothes on my own that aren’t all from Agreste, so I figured I’d need some help picking out good clothes and you’re good with fashion so...”

”Oh,” she said back. “Well, I’m glad you think so. I’d love to help you pick out some stuff.”

He felt relieved when she finished speaking and a smile slipped onto his face. “Really? That’s great! How about this weekend?”

Marinette pursed her lips and looked away for a second, as if she was thinking about her schedule. “Sure, how about Saturday at one?”

”Pefect! See you then,” Adrien grinned. 

“Uh huh,” she mumbled quietly. He felt like she was agreeing to this reluctantly, and he hoped she didn’t feel pressured into this just because she was too nice. 

“Marinette if you don’t really want to—“

”No, I do!” 

“Are you sure?” Adrien asked again. “You seem a little bit disappointed about something.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” she repeated, “I’ve just been kinda tired lately that’s all.” 

“Thank you,” he told her earnestly, “you’ve been a really great friend recently, even more than usual!” 

“Thanks,” she murmured with a half smile and neutral eyes.

Adrien could tell something was off, but he was too afraid to ask her out of fear she’d get mad at him for prying too much.

”See you Saturday,” Marinette said, before waving and walking away like she couldn’t get away from him fast enough.

Had he done something wrong? Was she really just tired? Why couldn’t he tell?

Adrien sighed in resignation. ”Man, I am not good at reading girls...”


	9. Birthday Gifts

He stood outside the mall with his hands tucked gingerly in his coat pockets, patiently waiting for his classmate to show up. Adrien was early, actually, but he was incredibly excited to finally get clothes that he wanted to wear that weren’t exclusively from his father’s brand. 

And, he was also excited to hang out with a friend. Marinette was always interesting and recently he had been learning a lot of new things about her. Though... he would also say there was a lot about her he didn’t really understand. He hoped them hanging out more frequently would help him understand the things about her that confused him. 

“You’re early,” Marinette said upon arriving, her eyes curiously staring at the young man. She was wearing a cream white turtleneck, paired with a plaid jumpsuit that went down to her ankles. Her boots made her an inch taller, though Adrien still towered over her. She had ditched her usual pigtails for a sleek headband that made her bangs stand out more.

“I was excited,” he admitted with a grin. “You look nice.”

”Thank you,” she replied with pink cheeks that he barely noticed until she ducked her head and played with the tips of her hair.

Was she nervous?

”I like your outfit,” Marinette told him, examining his shoes and pants first. 

“Everything I’m wearing is from Agreste,” he sighed with a slight frown, “except for this scarf.” 

Marinette looked up to see Adrien smiling to himself while delicately touching the edge of a pretty blue scarf wrapped around his neck that she hadn’t paid attention to before. 

Her eyes flashed with something that looked like recognition. 

“That scarf...” her voice trailed off.

”My father gave it to me for my birthday a couple years,” Adrien explained, “excellent craftsmanship, I really love it.”

Marinette cracked a fragile smile. “I’m glad you like it.” 

He found it strange that it sounded like she was replying to him as if he was thanking her. But, he ignored that nagging feeling and instead removes his fingertips from the end of the scarf to shove it back into his pocket. 

“Are you ready to go?” Adrien asked her, nodding his head towards the inside of the mall.

”Oh, uh yeah,” Marinette answered, adjusting her headband while she did. 

“Alright well, lead the way Miss Fashion Lady!” Adrien joked, hoping to lighten the mood. 

He felt proud of himself when she laughed and kept smiling for the rest of the day.


	10. Puns

“Who are you, and what have you done with Adrien?” Marinette asked, tone so serious he almost believed she was actually mad. 

“Oh come on,” he whined, “don’t leave me  _hanging_.” 

This statement wouldn’t have bothered Marinette under any other circumstance, but when the blonde haired boy held up his hand to high five her, and raised the other only to have an actual clothes hanger held between his fingers... she internally screamed. 

When they had finally gotten to the cash register, the lady had asked him cash or credit, and he turned to Marinette with a smile. “I have to give you _credit_ for making this such a fun day.”

”Stop.”

Adrien did not stop. ”Next time you’re bored, don’t be afraid to _cash_ in the favor.”

“I’ll actually _hang_ you if you make another dastardly pun like... _him_ ,” Marinette threatened, walking away and busying herself with clothes racks even though they were done shopping. 

”Aw was that a pun based off my hanger pun—“

”No!”

Adrien cocked a brow. “Wait, make puns like who?”

Marinette suddenly seemed to register that she’d said something she hadn’t meant to say out loud. “L-Like... Chat Noir.”

The blonde teenager held back a laugh. “Oh I get it,” he said with a suggestive lilt.

”What?” Marinette asked suspiciously.

”If I act too much like Chat Noir,” Adrien leaned over to whisper in her ear, “you’ll start getting flashbacks from those dreams of yours~”

”You little shit!”

”Aw Marinette,” he mocked, “can’t handle the thought of Chat Noir ravishing you?”

”Oh please,” she spat, “that little kitty couldn’t handle the thought of me coming on to him.”

Adrien opened his mouth, but closed it again. He realized the thought of Marinette suddenly doing anything... _lewd_ to him was dizzying.

”And apparently,” the young woman smirked, “you can’t either.”


	11. FaceTime

When Marinette’s phone rang, she didn’t think twice before pressing accept to the video call and propping it up on her desk. 

It was common for Alya to spontaneously FaceTime her anyway, so she yawned while waiting for the screen to load. 

Her eyes must’ve been deceiving her, because last time she checked, Alya was not blonde with bright green eyes and a blinding white smile that made her weak in the knees. She thanked herself for choosing to sit down, before promptly jumping away from the screen. 

“Hello?” Adrien’s voice asked. “Marinette, can you hear me? Did it work?”

Why in the world had Adrien Agreste FaceTimed her? Probably on accident. 

He was still calling her name, so she popped her head back into frame with an awkward smile and a tiny wave. She was surprised to see a relieved look on his face upon seeing her. What reason could he possibly have for calling her? 

“Thank goodness,” Adrien breathed, “I thought I wasn’t gonna be able to see you the whole time.” 

The thought of Adrien wanting to see her face gave her goosebumps. 

“H-Hi,” she greeted, settling herself back in front of the camera. “Can I help you?”

”What?” Adrien asked. “Oh, uh, no I just... wanted to talk to someone besides Nino right now.” 

And suddenly, she noticed Adrien’s happy expression had faded into an upset look that made her heart clench for him. All she ever wanted was for Adrien to be happy, and it was obvious that something had happened. In that moment, Marinette decided to forget her crush, and just be there for him like he needed.

”Sorry, maybe this was a bad idea—“

”How do you like your new clothes?” Marinette chirped.

Adrien immediately plastered on that empty model smile. Not that she would ever call him out on it, at least not right now.

But, when he started rambling about his new outfits with joy in his eyes, she figured that she’d do anything to keep this boy happy.


	12. “Adrien’s Girlfriend”

Plagg liked to think that with his years of wisdom and experience, it would be easy for him to understand humans at this point. 

But... leave it to his chosen to completely wreck Plagg’s confidence in that department. Adrien was sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen while chatting casually with the girl who lived above that delightful bakery with some of the most splendid cheese pastries Plagg had ever tried. 

Adrien looked happy, eyes lighting up so brightly Plagg had to look away.

The amount of fondness and admiration in husband chosen’s eyes looked similar to the amount of love he had in his eyes when he looked at Ladybug. Plagg furrowed a brow at this thought. Did Adrien like bakery girl too? Not that Plagg would mind... all you can eat cheese danishes versus a sassy superherione that never returned Adrien’s feelings. 

Plagg knew what he would do. 

But... Adrien was still devoted to his partner. Not even a beautiful girl with tons of food could lure him away from the lady who had stolen his heart. 

Unfortuanately, Plagg thought.

He’d much rather this bakery girl he Adrien’s girlfriend instead. 

And then, he heard Adrien laughing with a slight blush on his face while the girl on the other side of the screen giggled with him. 

Maybe... there’s hope for them yet.

”Hey, I actually have to head to sleep now,” he heard Adrien’s classmate speak softly, almost like she was reluctant to leave. 

“Oh right,” the blonde said with a sad tone he wasn’t good at hiding. “I forgot it was a school night.”

”Yeah,” the girl agreed, “me too.” 

“That was... really fun,” Adrien told her. “Could we do it again some time?”

Plagg watched the bakery girl smile wider than Chat Noir’s Cheshire grins. “I’d like that!”

”Cool! I mean... cool,” Adrien coughed with a rosy hue on his cheeks. 

“See you tomorrow?” 

His chosen grinned back. “Yeah, goodnight Marinette.”

And when Adrien flopped onto his bed with what sounded like a lovesick sigh... well, let’s just say Plagg was expecting some cheese danishes in the near future. 


	13. Good Luck

“Physics will be the death of me,” Marinette mumbled, the pencil in her hand being held in a death grip that was sure to break the wood if she pushed any harder.

”Girl, would you chill?” Alya asked. “It’s just a quiz.”

”Alya, I’m struggling in physics enough as it is! Every grade matters to me at this point.”

The blogger rolled her eyes, pressing a finger to the bridge of her glasses before sighing. “Didn’t I tell you to ask a certain someone to tutor you?”

Marinette scoffed disbelievingly. “And let Adrien know that I’m actually the stupidest person on the planet? Of course I didn’t ask him!”

”He’s really good at physics though—“

”I know,” the bluenette whined.

It was true. Adrien Agreste was amazing at physics while Marinette Dupain-Cheng... was not. If anyone could help her it was totally him. But... she was much too shy to ask him to be her tutor. And the thought of Adrien thinking she was dumb made her insides twist.

”Then why don’t you—“

”Adrien can’t know that I’m actually—“

”That you’re actually what?” Adrien asked, sneaking up behind Marinette with a grin that was sure to show up in her dreams later tonight. 

“Adrien!” Marinette shrieked, jumping away from her crush with a shocked expression. “You scared me.”

Said crush scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry, I just heard you say my name and I got excited.”

”Did you now?” Alya asked with a smirk. “That’s interesting... now if you’ll excuse me I’m gonna go find my boyfriend.”

Alya nudged Marinette in the side with a cough before leaving her best friend alone to fend for herself.

”Y-Yeah,” he stuttered out. “Is that weird?”

”No!” Marinette assured him quickly. “I’m just easily... scared. T-That’s all! I’ve been on edge all day.”

”Oh! Because of the physics quiz?” Adrien asked innocently. 

She wanted to tell him no, she wanted to claim she was great at physics, but her morals won in the end and she nodded with a frown that was symbolizing her embarrassment. 

“I’m nervous too,” he told her, “but I’ve got a secret weapon.”

”Huh?”

Adrien smiled knowingly before slipping a familiar chain of charms out of his pocket, showing it off like it was a trophy he was proud of.

“That’s—“

”My Marinette lucky charm? Yep!” 

Marinette looked back and forth from the wide smile on his face and charm in his hand. Her heart warmed at the fact that the love of her life had kept something she thought for sure he would deem insignificant.

”You actually still have it,” she uttered happily. 

“Of course I do!” Adrien chirped. “Do you—do you still have mine?” 

Marinette laughed. Did she have something that Adrien gave her? What kind of silly question was that? She still had pencils tucked away that he’d let her borrow when they were fourteen.

Her crush looked confused. “Is that a yes?”

Marinette composed herself, somewhat. ”Yes! Totally!” 

“Well then,” Adrien shrugged, “I guess we’ve got all the good luck we need to ace this quiz.”

Her heart skipped in her chest. Him... considering an item of hers good luck? Did that mean by extension he thought she was also good luck? One could only hope... 

The teen model placed a hand on her shoulder, his touch sending a jolt down her spine that he was so blissfully unaware of.

“And, we’ve got each other to rely on too,” Adrien whispered, green eyes softening as they seemed to peer straight into her soul.

She had to fight the nervous giggle she wanted to let out.

“Y-Yeah,” she told him. “I guess we do.” 


	14. The Valentine

“It’s not funny!” Adrien shouted, trying his best to hold back the smile tugging at his lips. 

Marinette shrugged nonchalantly before spinning around in her desk chair, watching Adrien’s mouth twitch into the ghost of a grin. There was something about not being with him in person that seemed to raise her confidence. So, while he held back his laughs on her computer screen, she had yet to combust in front of him. 

“Marinette I literally _can’t_ leave my house right now,” he spat.

”And that’s what makes it funny,” she snipped back, earning a half laugh and half frustrated groan from the teen model. 

“Being put on house arrest by rabid fans doesn’t really seem too funny to me,” he pouted, placing his cheek in his hand. 

Marinette put her spinning to a stop and scooted closer to her computer. Was she enjoying torturing Adrien like this? A little bit sure. But, in all honesty there was pain behind this conversation that she was trying to hide. 

Another Valentine’s Day where she was reminded that Adrien was way out of her league. With so many fan girls out there, of course he would never choose her to be his Valentine. So, when he had called her up to vent about his troubling situation, Marinette pushed down the lump in her throat and simply laughed.

”I’m sorry Adrien,” she said softly, “I know this is difficult for you, I just like teasing you sometimes.”

His face softened with a sigh. “I feel bad for complaining honestly, it sounds like I’m bragging or something.” 

“No! Not at all! I know you aren’t like that Adrien,” Marinette assured him. 

He looked slightly relieved at that comment from her. 

“That means a lot to me,” he told her, “you always know just what to say to make me feel better.”

She offered him a warm smile, though her heart rammed against her chest beneath it all. 

“Now,” Adrien grinned, “let’s talk about your Valentine’s Day!” 

Marinette blanched. “Mine? What? Why?”

”Come on Marinette, it’s no secret that you’re the most popular girl in school,” Adrien laughed. “I bet guys were lining up at your door this morning.”

Her face flushed red, because there had been a few guys outside the bakery a couple hours ago with cards and confessions that Marinette had awkwardly turned down.

”W-What makes you say that?” Marinette asked, curious to hear his explanation. 

“You’re one of the coolest people I know, why wouldn’t you have a lot of people pining for you?” 

She mustered an awkward smile back at him. Happy he thought highly of her, sad he wasn’t one of the people pining for her like she wanted.

”Well, that’s nice of you, but I didn’t really get the Valentine’s Day that I wanted...” 

Adrien frowned. “Oh, no one gave you a Valentine?” 

Marinette’s gaze flitted to the box of macarons she had baked last night with hopes to give them to Adrien, but obviously the massive crowds around his house had prevented that possibility. 

“No, not that... I just, didn’t really have the courage or opportunity to give someone else that I care about, a valentine.”

Adrien seemed to look a little disappointed for a second, and she was hoping that maybe it was because he had wanted something from her. Maybe he was jealous at hearing this about someone else, who was actually him... but he didn’t know that. 

“That stinks Marinette,” he told her instead, crushing all hope of her thought of reciprocation. “I wish you could’ve given it to him so you could have the day that you wanted.”

She looked back at his face on her computer. This wasn’t the romantic date she had always pictured, but being with him right now on this day was enough.

”You know it’s starting to get there,” Marinette told him sincerely, fighting her blush when he beamed back at her.

For now, she’d settle.


	15. Love Rivals

Adrien had never felt comfortable with Luka. 

No, that was a lie. 

He was perfectly fine with Luka, Adrien even wanted to consider them friends. 

But, Adrien had never felt comfortable with Luka near Marinette. Something about the way he hovered a little close, or the way he would sometimes gently brush his hand against hers, or the way he would lean in close to tell her something that made her laugh. 

It all felt... wrong. 

And Adrien liked to think he had good instincts, though this was something he couldn’t quite explain. There was no reason for his insides to twist or his lips to turn down or his eyes to flash with—well he wasn’t even sure what to call this feeling. It was manifesting itself in his body, seeming to make him more and more agitated as he thought more about it.

Marinette had always been there for him, she had always been there for everyone. Maybe that’s all it was for Luka too, her never ending friendship. He didn’t know why he cared if it was more than that.

He didn’t.

But, he wasn’t sure why his feet were glued to the floor when he passed by Luka and Marinette chatting casually in front of the school. He wasn’t sure why his hand gripped the strap of his messenger bag a little harder, and he wasn’t sure why his stomach dropped when Marinette blushed a furious red when Luka put his arm around her.

Adrien walked away.

Before he could do something stupid and unexplainable.

 

* * *

 

Luka had always been comfortable with Adrien. 

The inncoent blonde was always nice to everyone, and his eager to please attitude made him endearing if not a little naive.

But, as Luka talked to Marinette, watching Adrien stare out of the corner of his eye, his comfort was starting to dissipate. It wasn’t hard to see that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was in love with Adrien Agreste, unless you were Adrien himself of course. 

It also wasn’t hard to see that Luka was interested in Marinette, even Marinette knew that much. He noticed Marinette glancing briefly at Adrien, eyes shifting so fast you almost couldn’t tell she was looking at Adrien. 

Almost. 

As much as he wished Marinette would give her full attention to him, he knew that there really wasn’t any winning her affections with Adrien around. And Luka knew that if Adrien just opened his eyes he would see that Marinette was amazing too.

So, both selflessly and selfishly, he placed his arm around the bluenette’s shoulders, enjoying the blush she gave for himself and also seeing the way Adrien visibly tensed at this.

If a little jealously was all Adrien needed to finally understand, then Luka could do that. 

Even if... he had to to let Marinette go. 

Because if Marinette was happy, well that was all Luka could really hope for.

 

* * *

 

Marinette had never felt comfortable around Kagami. 

The cold and cool demeanor paired with the fact that she seemed to hold herself above it all made Marinette angry. 

Though... Marinette knew it was really just her own childish jealously projecting the worst of qualities onto her. But, she couldn’t help it, not when Adrien seemed to be enjoying her company so much, not when she knew Kagami was most definitely not in the friend zone like her.

It didn’t help that Kagami was gorgeous and graceful and incredibly smart. And she was a fencer, an excellent one, just like Adrien.

How was Marinette supposed to compete with that?

She saw them on the front steps of the school, laughing and chatting with each other as if they were a couple. 

A beautiful, rich, perfect couple. 

Her heart sank to the depths of her soul and she wanted nothing more than to scream at Adrien that she loved him more than anything and she wished he would see that. 

Her sunken heart shattered when Kagami leaned up to press a kiss against Adrien’s cheek, and he grew pink in response. 

Marinette wanted to disappear.

But, instead she walked briskly past them, barely nodding in return when Adrien voiced a greeting.

She didn’t want him to see the tears brimming in her eyes.

She hated being jealous. 

 

* * *

 

Kagami had never thought anything of Marinette. 

Not when they barely interacted and therefore no opinion could truly be formed. But, it took an idiot to not see that she was so blatantly in love with Adrien Agreste. 

Now, Adrien himself was that idiot. 

Adrien was attractive, smart, wealthy, talented, kind, and Kagami was very much romantically interested in the young Agreste who rivaled her fencing skills. And most of the time Kagami was confident that she could successfully win his affections as well. 

Except, when Marinette Dupain-Cheng was around. 

A baker’s daughter, a clumsy girl, a stuttering mess around the teen model.

Yet, despite it all, Kagami couldn’t shake the feeling that he harbored feelings for the class president, even if he wasn’t aware of them just yet. She was sure if he had to choose between Marinette and herself in a life or death situation, Marinette would be the immediate choice on instinct.

Kagami wasn’t going to say she didn’t care, because it annoyed her that it was so difficult to beat out this twin-tailed girl. But, a part of Kagami admired her stupid bravery and never ending kindness. Maybe it was a slight hint of jealousy causing this annoyance and not actual dislike itself.

These thoughts ran through her head as she spoke to Adrien, noticing Marinette lurking close by. Fueled by her competitive nature, she leaned forward and pressed her lips gently against Adrien’s cheek, stunning him into silence and surely breaking Marinette.

She would’ve liked to say that this was purely selfish and for the sake of winning, but deep down she felt like she was partially rooting for Adrien to finally get the memo that Marinette was in love with him. 

Deep down she knew she was trying to initiate Marinette into being bolder, into trying harder, and to stop hesitating or else Kagami would surely win.

But, when her rival practically ran down the stairs, hiding her eyes so no one could tell she was crying, Kagami figured a tougher skin couldn’t hurt.

And maybe, eventually, Marinette would come back to fight for him.

And maybe the stuttering mess of a girl, would finally win. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really liked this chapter! Mostly because I like writing in this style, similar to my “Heartbeat” chapter in A Tale Of Two Rejects.


	16. Beach

Marinette stared, eyes unable to look away from the picture in front of her. 

Adrien’s eyes looked back at her from the glossy magazine page in her hands, half lidded and shining. 

Those eyes would be in her dreams tonight. It was common for Marinette to get distracted by Adrien’s photos at the end of the day, when everyone was gone. The empty classroom gave her the privacy she wanted, and the silence helped her focus solely on her crush.

She glanced at the hand that was pushing back his messy hair, the lips that were curved into a devilish smirk, and the beautifully bare chest displayed across a majority of the page. 

She traced her gaze lower towards the dip in his hips that led straight to his—

“Marinette?” 

“Ah!” Marinette shrieked, throwing the magazine up into the air. She was met with the Greek god of the magazine spread himself. 

“Sorry,” Adrien whispered, bending down to pick up her magazine, much to Marinette’s absolute horror. 

“No wait—“

”Oh,” he uttered, seeing that she was turned to the latest Agreste swimwear collection, with him as the lead model. 

Her face burned, embarrassment the only feeble feeling she could feel in this moment. What was he thinking? Was he creeped out that she had been ogling his photos? Could she even come up with some other excuse for looking at this particular page? 

She could try.

Marinette cleared her throat. ”I-I was thinking about going to the beach soon, and I wanted to try my hand at designing some swimwear? I mean, I wanted to make swimwear, yes. That’s why I was l-looking at your picture.” 

“Oh?”

 

* * *

 

Adrien wasn’t necessarily surprised. 

He knew he had a large following of teenage girls who liked too look at his pictures in magazines all the time. 

But, he supposed having one of his close friends openly ogle his half naked photos was another story altogether. Warmth bloomed in his chest, and he almost blushed, but tried his best to hide it, unsure what this feeling was. 

She fumbled around with some excuse about designing her own swimwear, and maybe she was telling the truth. 

But, he liked to tell himself she just... liked what she saw. 

Call it his own narcissism. 

Maybe that was why he said what he said next too. 

“Oh?” Adrien asked, teasing her while she squirmed under his gaze.

”Y-Yes,” she stammered out. 

While her stuttering had improved over the years, he got glimpses of her fourteen year old self every now and then. The shift of her legs, the blush in her cheeks, it was all so adorable. Adrien couldn’t help himself from the opportunity to tease her a little bit more.

He bit back a grin before saying, “if you ever model that swimwear of yours for me, we can call it even.”

”What?” Marinette squeaked. 

“I’m kidding,” he chuckled, until the image of Marinette in a tiny bikini flashed into his mind and he turned bright pink. 

“Adrien?” Marinette called, and he realized he had been staring at her in silence for much too long. 

“F-Forget I said anything,” he stuttered, cursing the stammer. “It was dumb.”

She watched him curiously, before nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and looking away. 

“Bikini or one piece?” Marinette asked softly. 

His ears perked up. “Pardon?”

She swallowed a lump in her throat, obviously shy about asking. ”Which would you prefer? To... see?” 

“On... on you?” Adrien questioned further. He couldn’t believe she was actually asking his opinion. The image that had flashed in his brain was suddenly very prevalent again. 

“Kidding!” Marinette yelled loudly, when Adrien didn’t answer her question clearly. “Please, just forget I said it at all, it was a dumb joke. A stupid, dumb joke—“

”Bikini,” Adrien croaked. 

“Oh,” she replied, looking like she was pleasantly surprised by his answer. “I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

His ears were red, he could feel them beating up. His palms started sweating too. Flirting with Marinette felt different than flirting with Ladybug. It was scarier without his mask and the fact that she was ‘all things wonderful’ Marinette didn’t help that fact. 

Even after all the... interesting discussions they had, talking about anything lewd or inappropriate seemed weird. 

Oddly thrilling, but entirely unfamiliar.

Would it be so bad if it was familiar? 

He blinked out of his stupor before handing her magazine back to her. 

“Here you go,” Adrien said, not sure what else there was to say anyway. 

“Thanks,” Marinette said. 

“Maybe we can go to beach together sometime, and then you can see the collection in person.” 

“You and me?” 

“Yeah,” he assured her, “and Alya and Nino, you know. The gang.”

She visibly deflated for a millisecond. Adrien wasn’t sure why. 

Marinette sighed. “Oh, yeah, totally.” 

“Marin—“

”See you later,” she said, before stuffing the magazine into her backpack and leaving him in the empty classroom alone.

Adrien didn’t know what else to say.


	17. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confession without saying anything.

“Truth or dare?” Kim asked, waggling his brows mischievously. 

Adrien was hit with an overwhelming sense of Deja Vu and the thought made him laugh. 

It was another’s party hosted by Kim, with alcohol that he’d snuck in, that Adrien had opted to avoid. There was no way he could drink without Nathalie and Gorilla finding out when they picked him up. Even if he was old enough to drink, his father frowned upon it heavily. 

Thinking back to Kim’s question, he knew now, that both options were equally risky. Except, this time, Marinette was the recipient of the dangerous question instead of Adrien. 

She looked incredibly nervous, fingers gripping the hem of her shirt tightly, fisting the material as if she could release her anxiety that way. Maybe she really didn’t like this game. He noticed her gaze flitting to him for a brief moment before tearing her eyes away with a grimace.

Did she not want him to be here for some reason? 

“This game is stupid,” Marinette replied, sounding annoyed when her eyes screamed with fear. He knew this game was dangerous, but was she really so afraid of something specifically? Did she have something to hide? Or was there something Kim was going to make her do? Possibly both? 

“Come on Marinette, don’t be a party pooper,” Alya chided, nudging her best friend playfully in the ribs. 

Marinette herself looked even more  horrified, but she swallowed slowly before exhaling, as if she’s was accepting her fate.

”Okay,” her voice said softly, “dare.”

Adrien was surprised, he wasn’t half as brave as she was, given that he opted for the notoriously less thrilling option of truth. Maybe she did have something to hide after all. Kim’s eyes lit up and he grinned, much to Marinette’s utter horror. 

“I dare you to kiss the most attractive person in this room,” he said, adjusting his hoodie with a sly smile. “On the mouth!”

The twin-tailed girl paled instantly, mouth open in shock at the request she had just been given. Adrien wasn’t too surprised, given that he’d seen his fair share of kissing dares last time they played this game.

He watched as Marinette slowly stood up from her place in the circle, and she nervously took a couple steps forward, eyes glued to her feet in front of her. She seemed like she was scared she was gonna trip at any moment. 

It was then that Adrien noticed everyone seemed to be looking at him for some reason. Did he have something on his face? 

Marinette continued her dragging walk, and suddenly he realized she appeared to be walking towards... him.

Was everyone expecting her to go to him? Was he who Marinette considered the most attractive in the entire room?

He blushed at the thought, before flinching when Marinette knelt before him with the most fragile expression he’d ever seen on her face. She looked afraid of him, so much so she almost looked white. 

Was it that horrible to have to kiss him? Yet, she thought he was the most attractive person here, that didn’t quite add up. 

“Look,” she spoke quietly, “I’m really sorry if I make you uncomfortable, I’ll try to make it quick.”

Make him uncomfortable? Marinette never made him uncomfortable. Albeit, they’d never kissed before so that was new. Adrien blinked. Holy _shit_ , she was actually going to kiss him. The class president was about to plant one on him. 

Wait a second, she was going to take his first kiss. His first kiss was going to be with Marinette and not Ladybug. Unless he stopped this right here and right now.

But, then her eyes were fluttering closed and her lips were puckering and when she angled her head towards his all he could think was this excited him. He certainly knew Marinette wasn’t the worst person to take his first kiss. In fact, she was probably second on his list if he thought about it. 

Her lips looked glossy pink, and he could smell her strawberry scented perfume as she got closer. What was this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, in the deepest part of his chest. It felt oddly warm, and the warmth was only getting hotter the closer she got. 

Her approach was agonizingly slow at this point, so Adrien did the only thing he figured made sense.

He kissed her first. 

Their lips met in a collision that was so soft he almost didn’t feel it. 

Until the softness of her mouth made him melt, and the sound of surprise she made caused him to smile against her lips. She didn’t move, and Adrien realized that now would be a good time to pull away. 

So he did, and he found himself missing the warmth and softness of her mouth. 

Marinette hadn’t kissed him back, and that only bruised his ego slightly, though maybe she was just in shock. 

Of course, that didn’t matter, because it wasn’t like he was going to kiss her again.

No matter how much he enjoyed it.

He licked his lips and tasted the lip gloss that had smeared, and he noticed her eyes fixated on his mouth as he did so. Her face was a brilliant shade of red that reminded him of his partner’s suit.

Adrien frowned. Why did he feel like he was betraying her when she never returned his feelings?

Marinette breathed out, tears starting to form in his eyes, snapping him out of his trance, before she stood up and bolted away. 

He watched her leave with a confused look on his face. 

Was kissing him that bad? 

Was he... a bad kisser?

His legs were moving before his mind gave him a reason why.

”Marinette, wait!” Adrien called, following her out the front door, and into the chilly air of the night. He felt a light drizzle as he walked out after her, the water cooling his burning skin.

She stopped running when she reached the sidewalk in front of Kim’s house, chest heaving and eyes shining with fresh tears. Was he the cause of her crying? The thought made his heart hurt. 

Why could he never understand this girl?

”I’m sorry if I upset you,” he said tentatively, “I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

Her shoulders tensed, and if possible, she looked more hurt. 

“No, you shouldn’t have,” she agreed solemnly, eyes suddenly seeming to grow dull and tired. The bright blue faded into something more... somber. 

“If you hate me that’s okay,” Adrien assured her, though internally he was sad. “I don’t think I’ve ever really succeeded at getting you to like me too much.” 

Marinette fixed her gaze on him, the blue more intense now, and the rain grew stronger with the fire in her eyes.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Marinette scoffed. “The densest person I’ve ever met.” 

Adrien was offended. Why was she being so mean all of a sudden? To have sweet Marinette insult him, truly made him feel like scum. 

“I-I’m sorry,” was all he could muster. 

“You don’t even know what you’re saying sorry for,” she spat out, hair starting to stick to her face from the rain drops spilling onto the both of them.

He wasn’t used to seeing Marinette like this, so cold, so sad, so... _broken_. 

“Could you tell me?” Adrien asked. “I want to fix whatever I did.”

She looked at him in complete disbelief. 

He sighed. “If it was because I kissed you without asking—“

”No! Oh my god no!” Marinette shouted desperately. “Adrien you never get it, how do you never get it?!”

The model let out a frustrated groan. ”I don’t know what you’re talking about! Please just tell me!”

Marinette did not reply, much to his annoyance.

Instead, she stomped her way angrily up to where he stood before hastily grabbing his face in her hands.

And this time, _she_ kissed _him_.


	18. In The Rain

She was actually kissing him this time. 

Lips pressed firmly against his, while all he could do was flounder about, incredibly confused. 

Had she not been shouting that he was an idiot all but ten seconds ago? 

Her hands felt cold on his cheeks, and the rain had made both his and her hair stick to their faces unattractively and uncomfortably. But, the warmth from her lips made him melt, and he found himself applying pressure of his own right back.

But, as soon as he pressed forward, she pulled away, breathing heavily. 

“What—What just happened?” Adrien asked, lips tingling and head reeling. 

“I ran away from you because I love you,” she whispered through the downpour. 

He felt his heart stop. 

“Marinette...”

Adrien had never been more confused in his life. 

She wiped a tear away from her eye. ”I’ve loved you for years, Adrien. I fell in love with you in the rain, so I suppose it’s fitting I tell you in the rain too.”

”You fell in love with me in the rain?”

Her voice wavered. “The day you gave me your umbrella, years ago, when I thought you’d put that gum on my seat.”

He couldn’t believe his ears. Marinette loved him. She had for years. He never knew that this was why she was so afraid of him all the time. This was why she would deflate when he called her a friend, or invite her to hang out in groups, or deny the possibility of them ever becoming more. It all started to make sense, and it only made his brain hurt even more. Was he stupid? Or was she just good at hiding her feelings? 

”I did the stupid dare,” her voice seethed. “But, you don’t love me, and that’s not fair to you. So I ran because I didn’t know what else to do. It hurts kissing you, knowing that the only time I’ll ever be able to do it is when a dumb game makes me. I didn’t even ask for your consent.”

Was she serious right now? He kissed her first. His heart skipped a beat in his chest at how much this girl cared about him. Adrien couldn’t believe she loved him, really loved him. 

“Adrien, I’m so sorry—“

”Do you mean it?”

 She froze. “What?”

”Do you really love me?” Adrien clarified. “This isn’t some dream I’m about to wake up from?”

Marinette narrowed her eyes and frowned. “No, it’s not. I meant what I said, all of it.”

His chest felt tight. He wasn’t used to this feeling. He wasn’t used to being loved so much these days. And to have the heart of someone so amazing, was unreal in Adrien’s head. What had he done to deserve Marinette’s affection at all?

As messy as this was, with how he felt for Ladybug, and plenty of other factors he couldn’t quite think of at the moment, he couldn’t find himself to flat out shut down Marinette. He was used to fangirls having crushes on him and politely rejecting their advances, but this was Marinette. She wasn’t just any girl. She was his friend, a wonderful friend he never wanted to lose. So, while Adrien knew he didn’t quite feel the same way about her, he couldn’t help wanting to understand more about how her feelings had developed. There was something so warm and pure about the thought of her liking, no, _loving_ him. It bloomed in his chest and shot through his fingertips like a crackling electricity that was spurred on by the rain.

”Why?” Adrien croaked out, unable to think of anything better to say.

“Excuse me?” Marinette asked. 

“Why do you love me?” Adrien clarified.

Her face flushed, and she pushed a strand of damp hair out of her eyes before taking a deep breath. 

“You have every reason to be a completely different person, and yet you’re you,” she told him. 

The young man furrowed his brow, clearly not making sense of what she had said. 

Realizing this, Marinette tried again. “I know you have a rough relationship with your father, I know you have such a strict schedule for your life, I know you have high expectations set for you and limited freedom, I know you have pressure and loneliness and a lack of this special kind of love in your life that lots of other people have.” 

He flinched with every word that came out of her mouth, a painful reminder of things that were all true. 

“And yet,” she continued, “you’re selfless, expecting nothing from other people when you’ve never gotten anything yourself. Sure, you may have material possessions, but I can see that you’re sad, Adrien. You’re sad a lot, and you still make it your mission to make everyone else happy before you. You plaster on smiles to satisfy other people. You give so much, you’re kind, you care, you’re strong, you’re absolutely amazing. And... I love you.” 

He was on the verge of tears, unable to fathom how Marinette could realize all of this about him. He thought he was good at hiding his sadness, his hurt. But, she spoke as if she could see through every fake grin he’d ever given. How was it possible for someone to so clearly see _him_? She seemed to read him even better than Ladybug, she seemed to care more than Ladybug. Oh, how he wanted so badly to have met her first. To have fallen in love with Marinette instead, to spare him heartbreak and find solace in someone who truly loved him. 

But, he hadn’t met her first. 

He met Ladybug first, and she held his heart in her gloved hands whether she wanted it or not. So, it hurt him even more when he realized he was going to have to respond to Marinette’s confession... with a rejection.

”Marinette,” he began, “your friendship means everything to me, you have to know that.” 

“I—yeah I do,” she nodded solemnly. 

“I’m really sorry,” he choked, watching her face fall right in front of him. “You’re wonderful, I mean it, I just... there’s someone else that I—“

”I know,” her voice whispered, surprisingly calm. “I just... I wanted to tell you anyway because it’s been years and I thought that if I told you, maybe I could finally let you go.” 

Let him go? The words felt like a sucker punch to the stomach. Adrien didn’t want Marinette to let him go, he wanted to be with her always. By her side, laugh with her, talk with her, buy clothes, and FaceTime with her. He was being incredibly selfish, not accepting her feelings, but not wanting her to move on either. How was he supposed to respond to that? 

“Marinette—“

Suddenly, the phone in his pocket rang, and he looked down to see Nathalie calling him. Marinette herself sighed. She reached out, as if to touch his cheek, but pulled her hand back before she could. 

“Good night, Adrien,” she said, before dashing inside, leaving him to take his phone call.  


	19. Akumatized

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir wants to make sure Marinette doesn’t get akumatized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao Marichat is my guilty pleasure and I’m sorry for dropping them into this adrienette April story, but I promise adrienette is still the main ship.

She felt his presence on her balcony before she ever saw his glowing green eyes. 

Wiping stray tears off her face, she mustered up the courage to call him out on his spying. 

“You don’t have to lurk in the shadows,” Marinette said, not even looking in his general direction.

An occasional visit from him wasn’t uncommon ever since the first time he’d asked to hang out, when Andre the ice cream maker had been akumatized years ago.

She noticed his ears twitched in response before he slinked out of the darkness, exposing himself in the glow of her fairy lights. Marinette wasn’t in the mood to entertain Chat Noir, not when she’d just ruined her relationship with Adrien. The way his face fell when she poured her heart out was enough for her to realize his response was not going to be pleasant. Even though she’d braced for impact, his rejection hurt a million times more than she could’ve ever imagined. 

How naive was she to think that maybe he’d actually like her back? 

“How did you know I was there?” Chat asked, more serious than she was prepared for. 

She dragged the back of her hand along the underside of her nose as she sniffed. “I could feel you.”

If it sounded weird to say that, he didn’t show it in his reaction, instead he slunk closer to her with his cat like grace, head lowered as if he was ashamed. 

“Why are you here, Chat Noir?” Marinette questioned, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was upset. 

He looked conflicted, incredibly so, but he let out a sigh before ducking his head away from her. “I wanted to make sure you were okay, because I... I heard about what happened.” 

The color drained from Marinette’s face instantly, frustration and embarrassment building up inside of her core. Had Adrien told Chat Noir? Were they that close? Why did she feel like she’d been betrayed?

”Adrien _told_ you?” Marinette pressed, brows knitted together with concern. 

Chat blinked before shifting uncomfortably. “Uh, no? I might’ve happened to be in the area... when you told him how you felt.”

Her stomach dropped. Why was that infinitely worse? Someone else had seen her get her heartbroken, they’d seen one of the most humiliating moments of her life. 

“ _Great_ ,” the girl spat out, feeling tears forming again. 

“Wait, Princess! Please don’t cry, I don’t want you to get—“

”What?” Marinette snapped. 

“—akumatized.” 

She straightened up. Marinette hadn’t thought about that possibility at all. She’d been too consumed by her emotions that she hadn’t been thinking with her head. A part of her was grateful that her partner had shown up to remind her how dangerous it was to wallow in your negative feelings.

“Right, I forgot. Thank you, Chat.” 

He offered a weak smile. “No _purr_ oblem _.”_

Marinette reached out to punch his arm. 

“Meouch!” Chat playfully yelped. 

She punched him again, but she couldn’t stop the giggle that slipped past her lips at the pun. 

“Did you just—“

”No,” she lied.

”I could’ve sworn I heard a—“

”You must be hearing things,” her voice wavered. 

Chat Noir smirked. “Yeah, like you _actually_ laughing at a cat pun.”

”I was... coughing.”

The feline superhero wasn’t taking her excuses. “Who knew you had it in you to laugh at a cat pun. To laugh at _my_ cat pun!”

”I wasn’t laughing!” Marinette denied, wanting to be mad, but failing to stop the curl of her lips. 

“Just smile, Princess. I know you want to!” Chat laughed, inching closer to her face with a sly grin. 

“Not true,” she huffed, biting back the smile. 

Something about him was infectious. But, she was Ladybug goddammit, she could resist the urge to crack one measly smile. 

“Aw come on,” he teased, “where’s that pretty smile I like to see?”

”Flattery will get you nowhere,” the designer informed him, folding her arms across her chest, even though the blush on her cheeks said otherwise. 

“Is that so?” Chat’s voice was airy and playful, his face getting so close his nose almost brushed against hers. “Because I really do think you have a pretty smile.”

She rolled her eyes. He never did have a knack for personal space. Boundaries were nonexistent with this boy.

”I’m sure you say that to all the girls,” Marinette shot back, placing her finger on his nose and pushing him away, similar to what she’d done as Ladybug many times before.

He grinned, grabbing her wrist before she could pull her hand back. The blonde swiftly pulled her out of her lounge chair and into his chest with a soft thump. 

Before she could protest, he put his chin over her shoulder and held her close, one gloved hand stroking the back of her head in a soothing manner. Marinette tensed at first, before relaxing into his embrace and circling her arms around his midsection. He felt warm, even if the cool leather made her skin tingle slightly. 

“Chat?” Marinette called, as if to ask what he was doing. 

“You should smile more,” he whispered. “You really do have a nice smile. And I’d hate to see you frown over some pretty boy who doesn’t deserve you.”

Her heart clenched. “Chat Noir, Adrien isn’t like that.” 

Chat sighed. “He hurt you and you still defend him.”

Marinette rested her head against Chat’s shoulder with a exhale of resignation. “Because he’s a pretty boy with an even prettier heart. And he’s my friend, and no matter what happens next, I’m always going to love him.”

”No matter what?” The superhero asked, almost hopeful. 

“Yeah,” she answered. “Adrien needs more people to love him, because he loves everyone else around him so much.” 

Chat Noir hugged her tighter, and Marinette couldn’t find it in herself to mind. Because this comfort was something she hadn’t even realized she needed. 

“You know that Adrien loves you too, right?” 

Marinette leaned back to stare at her partner. “I think... deep down I know he loves me like he loves Nino and Alya. But, I was hoping it was more than that.”

Her heart stung with every flashback to her rejection from Adrien just hours ago. Fresh wounds that cut too deep. 

“But, you know he cares about you very much, right?” 

Marinette nodded sadly. “Yeah, even if... I’m not good enough to be his girlfriend—“

Chat gripped her shoulders. ”It’s not that you’re not good enough. Don’t _ever_ tell yourself you’re not good enough for anyone, please. If anything, he’s not good enough for you. He’s confused about a lot of things, he’s not the best with people, and he happens to be in love with someone else at the moment.”

She clenched her hands into fists. “I know, and that hurts so much.” 

“It’s not because you’re not good enough for him, okay? It’s because he met her first.”

Marinette blinked. “How do you know that?” 

“I-I... talk to Adrien occasionally,” he replied, suspiciously nervous. “He’s known this other girl for a while now.”

”I see,” she mumbled. 

“Princess, you deserve to love someone who loves you back the way you want,” she heard Chat tell her, so sure and confident in his words. 

“If only it were that simple,” Marinette laughed, but it was hollow and aching. “You of all people can understand how I feel, I suppose?”

Chat Noir opened his mouth, but closed it right after, seeming to think very hard on his next words. 

But, Marinette spoke first. “Don’t you ever get tired of Ladybug turning you down?”

”I-I love her,” he said.

”But, how does she feel?”

”She loves someone else,” he muttered.

Marinette pushes back her bangs with a hint of frustration. ”And we both know no matter what you’re always gonna love Ladybug, and I’m always gonna love Adrien, because they’re amazing and it’s not their fault they don’t love us back. But... sometimes it just _hurts_ knowing there is someone else out there that they want to be with.”

”... yeah, sometimes it does hurt,” Chat admitted with a grimace. 

“Sometimes I wish someone could just love me and not another girl,” she said, throat dry and words soft. 

He didn’t say anything back.

“And—And you deserve to have someone love you for being wonderful, Chat Noir!”

”That’s what I’ve been saying about you,” he reminded her. 

“Then we both deserve it!” Marinette shouted. “Or... maybe I’m just being selfish because I wish Adrien would love me back.”

“Marinette...”

”I should just forget about him, shouldn’t I?”

The superhero froze for a second. “You should... do what makes you happy, no matter what Adrien wants.”

”Adrien probably wants me to leave him alone,” Marinette mumbled mostly to herself. 

“No!” 

Marinette jumped in surprise. “Excuse me?” 

“Don’t avoid him,” he hastily said, “he loves being your friend.” 

The baker’s daughter frowned. “I’ll try not to, but it’s gonna be hard to look at him and not want to cry.”

”Oh,” was all Chat said back. 

Then, Marinette tugged on his arm and pulled him to the ground gently. He leaned against the brick wall and crossed his legs, while she did the same. With exhaustion creeping up on her, she leaned her head on his shoulder, and he placed his head atop hers in response. It was intimate, and comforting, but not romantic. It was much needed soothing for two people who had been hurt by their loves. 

“Can you stay a little longer?” Marinette asked quietly. “I don’t wanna be alone.”

Chat placed his hand on top of hers. “Anything for you, Princess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have an Instagram account now! It’s @gl.editing, and I make edits (yes, miraculous ladybug ones lol) so I would really appreciate it if you guys would check it out! Also, feel free to dm me about ao3 or any of my stories too! I’d love to talk to you guys :))


	20. Hamsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow thank you all so much for such a positive response to this story and especially the last couple chapters!! It made me so happy to see you guys liked it 🥺

Marinette scuffed her shoes along the sidewalk, clutching the straps of her backpack tightly while she trudged along. 

After her talk with Chat, she had felt a lot better. But, when daylight broke and he scampered away, she found herself drowning in her own intrusive thoughts again. She made a mental note to herself to thank him the next time she saw him. 

Marinette was supposed to walk straight home after school, but she found herself trailing past the bakery to a line of shops down the street. 

Seeing Adrien had been hard. Really hard.

He offered a warm smile and a wave, and she could only respond with a dejected nod of acknowledgement before she hurried to her seat behind him. At least she hadn’t cried on the spot. That would’ve been embarrassing to say the least. 

Marinette wanted to be friends with him, of course she did. But, wounds were still fresh and she wasn’t gonna bounce back so quickly. She would work her way up to feeling okay again, eventually.

”Marinette!” 

The designer turned her head to see Adrien calling her name from the open window of his driver’s car. The car was parallel parked nearby, and Marinette’s blood ran cold. 

He was the last person she wanted to see right now. 

Ignoring his calling, she made a mad dash into the nearest store she could, not even bothering to read the sign above that indicated where exactly she was going.

She walked deeper into the store, hiding behind a shelf to avoid her crush’s presence. After waiting for a few minutes, Marinette breathed a sigh of relief when Adrien didn’t walk in right after her. 

Glancing around, she suddenly realized... someone was making noises? 

She turned her head to see a row of hamsters lined up along this shelf. Happiness swelled within her.

Marinette LOVED hamsters, and that’s when she realized she’d run into a pet store. Not that she was complaining, she cooed softly at the little fur balls who ran on their wheels and dipped from their bottles.

The twin tailed girl had always wanted a hamster, she’d always... wanted a hamster with Adrien when they got married in her fantasies. 

Her smile dropped, and the hamster in front of her cocked its head to the side as if noticing her mood shift. 

Why did all her thoughts go back to him all the time? Why couldn’t she just forget about him for once? 

She didn’t even know if he liked hamsters. 

“You like hamsters?” Adrien asked, suddenly appearing next to her.

”Yeah I—Oh my god, Adrien!” Marinette shrieked, hands flailing around her face before she took a considerable amount of steps away from him. 

Her mind had been so engrossed in the cute balls of fluff in front of her, she hadn’t even noticed when he walked in.

“Sorry for startling you,” he apologized sheepishly, “but I didn’t want you to see me and run away again.”

“...” 

“I understand why you’re avoiding me, but I want to do whatever I can to make things right again,” Adrien told her earnestly. 

Her heart broke. 

How could he still be so sweet when she wanted to get over him? 

She sighed, looking down at her shoes. “Adrien, please don’t blame yourself for anything that happened between us. You didn’t do anything wrong, I promise. I just need some time to... to feel better.”

”I know,” he replied, “I just... I miss you, Marinette.” 

She grimaced, screaming at her heart to stop racing and shattering all at once. But, he almost looked like he was hurting as much as she was, his lips frowning so deeply with downcast eyes.

Marinette hated seeing him sad, but she wasn’t ready to be his emotional support right now. She could barely support herself, but she hated the fact that she was causing his distress. 

She’d make it up to him later. 

Adrien gasped. “I shouldn’t say things like that, I’m sorry. I swear I’m not trying to give you the wrong idea.”

Why did that hurt more? Hearing him essentially tell her, ‘oh my bad, I didn’t mean to make you think I could possibly love you back’, or anything like that.

Marinette knew he didn’t mean it like that, but her bitter side was rearing its ugly head. 

“Don’t worry,” she assured him, “I... miss you too, but now just isn’t a good time.”

”Marinette—“

”See you tomorrow,” she cut him off, before walking briskly past him out of the store, reluctantly leaving the hamsters behind. Marinette didn’t want to hurt him, but the sight of him was just too much for her to handle. 

Everything about him was just too much right now. She never found out if Adrien liked hamsters too.

At this point, Marinette supposed, it didn’t matter anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt was hard for me, it took me a while to come up with this concept lol


	21. Nightmare

Adrien woke up in a cold sweat, sheets fisted in his hand.

Gasping for air, he sat up straight in his bed. It was the fifth time this week, and Adrien was starting to lose his mind. 

For the past few days, his dreams had been invaded by recurring nightmares in which Marinette never spoke to him again. Scary dreams where she despised him, blamed him for ruining her, and completely shut him out of her life. 

And every time, he woke up disoriented and afraid. Afraid that his dreams were telling him of a real future that was to come.

He rubbed his face tiredly, but he knew he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. So, he threw his covers to the side and stepped out of bed to plop down onto his desk chair. The movement caused his monitor to wake up, a group picture of him, Alya, Nino, and Marinette lighting up the screen. 

They all looked so happy in this photo, and he remembered the day it was taken. 

The four of them had gone to the zoo one weekend, when his father had finally given him a free day to do whatever he wanted. Nino and Alya has reminisced about their time locked in a cage, while Adrien laughed internally about how he’d attempted to coach Nino into confessing to Marinette. 

... Marinette.

Oh, how he missed her more than he realized he ever could. 

It really was true that you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone. Marinette was a calming presence in his life, someone who was always there. Whether he appreciated it enough or not, she was a constant positive.

He supposed he took her for granted. 

Adrien was suddenly hit with what she told him at the pet store. How she needed time to feel better, how she needed time away from him. 

While he understood her need for time and space, his inner cat was miserable without her. He mentally scolded himself for being so clingy. 

But, they had just been getting closer, and she was truly one of his favorite people in the world. He stared at his phone atop his desk, wishing he could just FaceTime Marinette like he used to. He wished he could send her a silly text or a cat meme that made her tease him.

Adrien wanted to go shopping with her again, he wanted to share secrets, to be her seat buddy, to cheer her on when they had a test. 

Maybe sometimes... he wanted to hold her hand too. Maybe occasionally, he wanted to reach out and pull her into a hug. Maybe there were moments where he found himself flirting a little bit too much. 

Maybe he could still vividly remember the taste of her lips, and maybe he wanted to taste them again. 

 _No_.

Adrien did not want to do those things because he didn’t love Marinette like that. He was in love with Ladybug, fully devoted, entirely hers, forever and always. 

Even if... she didn’t want him.

Even if... she loved somebody else. 

He looked back at Marinette’s smiling face on his desktop. 

Was hurting Marinette really worth it? Over a girl who was never going to look at him the way he truly wanted? Had he made a mistake?

Ladybug was adventure and excitement, challenging him to be better.

Marinette was comfort and warmth, accepting him for who he was no matter what. And whether he was romantically interested in her or not, he loved her too. Whether he was Adrien Agreste or Chat Noir, Marinette had always truly accepted him. She was one of his best friends. 

Hurting her had been like stabbing himself in the heart. 

She was far too good to ever deserve heartbreak from an idiot like him.

He knew deep down, that in another life, he could really see himself falling in love with Marinette. And it would’ve been wonderful and amazing and sweet. 

But in this life, he wasn’t in love with Marinette.

Right? 

Why did he have to keep reassuring himself if he was so sure?

Adrien just really wanted to see her. 

To talk to her and understand how she felt, and maybe figure out how he felt along the way. 

But, she made it perfectly clear she did not want to see—

—Adrien. 

But, she’d never said anything about Chat Noir? She’d actually opened up to Chat Noir the other night too.

He felt a pang if guilt for considering using his alter ego to trick her into talking to him, but he wanted to make sure she was okay. And... he needed to figure out a few things for himself too.

Adrien took a deep breath before contemplating what he should do.

Moments later, a sleeping Plagg was woken up, and he shrieked as he was sucked into a silver ring. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please don’t hate me for adding more Marichat content, I swear this is still Adrienette April !!


	22. Aged Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A different take on the aged up prompt in which Marinette and Chat Noir ponder futures with their out of reach crushes... and then maybe futures with other people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all SM for over 9000 hits and over 300 subscriptions on this story!!! The positive response I’ve gotten from this was super unexpected because I originally started this out as some crack for myself and eventually it turned into a story I really cared about. SO TYSM TO ALL OF YOU!! ALSO, since so many of you seemed more than eager for some Marichat I may have... spoiled myself with some Marichat content lol

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Marinette teased, not even bothering to turn around when he landed on her railing. 

She was watering her plants, humming a vaguely familiar tune softly to herself all the while.

”Technically, I am the cat, so your statement doesn’t really work—“

Marinette laughed. “I was just trying to make a cat related statement, Chat Noir, in order to make it clear I knew you were there. Cleverness wasn’t exactly my first thought. I only feel you after you land.”

“How do you do that?” Chat asked incredulously, “you just always know when I’m here.”

”I’ve got a special Chat Noir sensor built in,” she joked, “that way I can keep track of that superhero stray.”

Chuckles spilled out of him, his nerves and anxiety during the trip here instantly melting away because that’s just the effect Marinette had on him when they were together. Of course she knew he was there. 

While he was Chat Noir, anyway. 

Adrien seemed to scare the living daylights out of her. Though, she had good reason. 

The thought turned him back to reality, and he let out a resigned sigh. 

“Something wrong, Kitty?” Marinette asked, placing her watering can on the ground before glancing at him warily. 

“Lady troubles,” he muttered, doing his best to avoid her suspicious gaze.

”You mean Lady _bug_ troubles,” the designer quipped with a small smile. 

He blinked. She had just punned.

Marinette turned bright red. “I’m sorry that was bad—“

”You’re really the whole package, aren’t you Princess?”

Her neck flushed and she turned her head away from him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Chat wanted to tell her she was actually a big part of his lady troubles, but identity reveals were not on the agenda tonight, so he decided to humor her.

”You bring me food, you give me hugs, you listen when I talk, you’re talented, you’re kind, you’re brave, you’re very cute and—“

 _I_   _wish I’d fallen in love with you instead because it would’ve been easy and I would’ve felt your warmth and I would’ve been happy._

“—you pun, I mean what’s not to like?”

Marinette let out a snort. “I was waiting for your inner flirt to come out, _mon_ _chaton_.”

Adrien’s tail swished.  

The thought of being hers felt like floating. It felt like relieving all stress and allowing himself to belong to someone who loved him to the moon and back.

Someone who loved him like he loved Ladybug. He’d always pictured that one day they would defeat Hawkmoth, reveal their identities, and become a real couple, eventually get married, and have a family. 

“Hey Princess, can I ask you something?”

Marinette nodded with a small smile. 

He scratched the back of his neck. “Did you ever... picture a real future with Adrien?” 

Her smile turned sad, eyes glazing over for the briefest of moments before she blinked herself back into the present. 

“You wouldn’t believe how much of a future I truly pictured,” she said, “it’s kind of embarrassing.”

”C-Can I hear about it?” Chat asked tentatively.

Her brow quirked. “Why?”

Adrien shrugged awkwardly. “Well... I had a future with Ladybug pictured in my head, and I wanted to know if you had something... similar.”

Her eyes seemed to soften at his response, so she took a deep breath and thought for a moment. 

“I wanted to be his girlfriend first, of course. And, I wanted to go on cute dates and hold his hand, couple stuff like that.”

Marinette had a dreamy look in her eye, and Chat couldn’t help the pleasant feeling that started growing in his chest. His hands were suddenly itching to hold hers too. He bet they were soft too. 

“I wanted to cook for him,” she added, “because I can tell he’s not used to warm home cooked meals with a lot of people, so I’d invite him over for family dinners a lot too.” 

The young man sighed, imagining the laughter of Marinette and her parents while he told them a joke over the dinner table, under the soft lighting of her dining room. The delicious food and the palpable love that loomed in the air around them while they engaged in conversation that they might not remember all of, but they’d remember the happiness it brought them. 

He would remember the happiness it brought him. 

“And... as embarrassing as this is to admit,” her voice whispered, “I would love to kiss him again.” 

He blushed. Hard. But, butterflies erupted wildly in his stomach. 

“Is he a g-good kisser?” Chat stammered, anxiously awaiting her answer. 

“Yeah,” Marinette replied with a lopsided smile, “but I’d love to kiss him again in the context of us being together. I’d like to kiss him out of the blue just to see that adorable expression of surprise on his face. But, the good kind of surprise that makes you grin because you’re just so happy, you know?”

Chat nodded, fighting the urge to scream in frustration.

Marinette frowned. “Not the kind of surprise that seems to say you’re horrified that a girl you don’t like just smashed her lips against yours.”

Adrien grimaced. Is that what Marinette had thought when she kissed him in the rain that night? Had he really seemed horrified with the situation? Had he really hurt her feelings with his expression that much?

”I’m sorry Chat,” the twin-tailed girl muttered, “I shouldn’t be saying stuff like that—“

”No!”

”No?”

”I mean,” he stalled, “please continue, and feel free to let it all out. It’s good to vent.” 

“Are you sure?” Marinette asked shyly, seeming to be open to the idea, but trying to be considerate of him. 

“Yeah, I’m positive.”

Her lips curled upward into a fragile grin. “Thanks for being a good friend, Kitty.”

His stomach plummeted. Oh, how much he hated himself in that moment. Guilt came crashing into him with a vengeance and he had to swallow before stuttering out that it was no problem at all. 

She hid a giggle behind her hand, before reaching out to scratch behind his ears. The feline superhero leaned into her touch with a shy purr. 

“You’re cute when you’re nervous, you know that?” Marinette asked absentmindedly. “You have such pretty eyes...”

His pupils dilated, his head tilted towards her magic hands that scratched small the right spots. 

“Not as pretty as yours...” Chat purred unknowingly. 

Marinette exhaled sadly, stopping her movements in his hair, much to his disappointment. 

“Ladybug doesn’t deserve you,” she told him with a frown, her hand sliding down to his cup his cheek.

Adrien placed a gloved hand atop hers, wishing so badly that it was skin and not leather touching her.

“Adrien doesn’t deserve you,” Chat Noir countered, peering up at her through his lashes. 

She looked conflicted, eyebrows knit tightly together and lips pursed. He wanted to know what she was thinking. He wanted to know what she was feeling. 

Was her heart beating as fast as his?

Was she just as tempted to kiss him as he was to kiss her?

Wait.

 _What?_  

What was he thinking? Did loyalty mean nothing to him anymore? Was Ladybug a joke to—

“I really want to kiss you,” Marinette whispered, strangely calm for someone saying something not so calming. 

Ladybug wasn’t a joke. 

But, neither was Marinette. 

And in this moment, all he knew was that he wanted to kiss her too. Badly. 

“Do you now?” Chat asked, trying to come off suave, but sounding more scared than anything. 

Her other hand reached up to cradle his face in her soft hands, thumbs tracing the outline of his mask. Adrien felt his pulse quicken, and he licked his lips in anticipation. 

“I do,” she told him honestly, “is that wrong? Does that make me a bad person?”

”If it is,” he croaked, “I guess we’re both bad people.”

Her eyes widened at his confession, but she didn’t move away from him. Instead, she shot him a grateful smile that barely reached her eyes. 

“But we shouldn’t,” her voice spoke, seeming to try and convince herself more than him at this point. 

His eyes were glued to her lips. Pretty and pink and right in front of him. 

“Does that mean we won’t?” Adrien asked her, hope laced in his fragile words.

“I—you love Ladybug,” Marinette said, pulling her hands away suddenly. 

He felt so cold without her there.

”You love Adrien,” he pointed out.

”Which is why this is wrong,” the baker’s daughter scoffed to herself. “I don’t want to use you Chat Noir, and I don’t want you to use me either. Right now we’re both vulnerable and convenient.”

Adrien felt a stab at his heart. He wanted to tell her that wasn’t true. That he was Adrien and that he wanted to kiss her because he ~~love~~ —

—really really _liked_ her.

But, the words stuck in his throat and he nodded sadly. 

“You might be right Princess,” Chat sighed. 

Marinette echoed him.

”But, you might be wrong too,” he added. 

“Chat?”

He took a step closer to her, this time cradling her face in his hands. “When I look at you, I don’t see Ladybug. I see Marinette. Strong, brave, beautiful, incomparable Marinette.”

Adrien watched her blush contrast against the dark leather of his suit. It was enough to make his heart skip a beat. 

“So, never think that I’m substituting you or even using you as a backup for Ladybug. You’re your own person, Marinette, and you deserve someone who knows that and loves you for it.”

”Are you saying that person is you?” Marinette asked shyly, eyes wide and hopeful and afraid.

Was that what he was saying? It certainly sounded like it. Was speaking his mind without thinking just telling the truth? Why did that thought scare him so much. He felt like he was close to discovering something about himself. 

“Because when I look at you Chat Noir,” Marinette began, “I see someone that I want to love, and someone I want to love me. I see a kind, dependable, caring sweetheart who makes me feel like I deserve the world.”

”You do,” Adrien told her without thinking. 

How did he get here? What was this feeling? How could he ever have not seen Marinette as more than a friend?

How could he have turned her down? 

All he wanted to do was kiss her until she forgot about everything and everyone else. He wanted to hold her close and make her laugh. He wanted everything from her, and he wanted to give everything in return.

”You say things like that and I just might fall in love with you,” she joked, but they both understood how serious her words really were.

“If you say things like that, I might just have to tell you it’s too late,” Chat blurted, unsure if what he was doing was even remotely a good decision. He hated tricking her with his alter ego, but Adrien as a civilian would never get this chance now. 

“You’re not making this easy,” she huffed, pulling his hands away from her face to hold them gently. 

“Maybe... one kiss couldn’t hurt?” Chat asked, so soft she almost didn’t hear him. 

“One kiss would do a lot more than hurt,” she muttered, “it would break me.” 

“I promise to put you back together,” he assured her, pressing his lips to her knuckles. 

“I think I’d get addicted to you if I kissed you,” her voice wavered. 

“And what if I told you I want that?” Adrien asked, insecurity visible on his face though the question was so forward. 

“Then I’d tell you you never fail to make me feel special,” Marinette giggled, before leaning up to kiss his cheek and then pulling away. He almost whined when her hands left his and she started towards her trapdoor. 

“Marinette,” he breathed.

”I don’t want us to get hurt, Chat. And, I’d never want to hurt you.”

He found himself unable to speak as she blew him a quick kiss and disappeared into her room. 

Adrien collapsed onto the ground of her balcony. A war raging on in his head and in his heart. What was going on with him? Who did he love? Both? Was that even a valid option? 

He felt like scum for betraying Marinette and Ladybug. Tricking a girl he rejected into kissing him was an action lower than low and it had almost happened. And he claimed to love Ladybug while he went around doing this? 

“I’m sorry,” he gritted out. To nobody, to everybody, to anybody. 

With more confusion in his mind than ever, he left her balcony to go home, and try and find some sort of peace in the wreckage he had caused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah maybe I went overboard with the Marichat oops


	23. Fashion Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien wants to make things better.

It was right after school when Adrien stopped her at the steps.

Marinette stared at his outstretched hand, the glossy paper drawing her eyes in immediately. 

He had said something, she thought, but wasn’t paying enough attention to register what.

“I’m sorry,” Marinette said, “could you repeat that?”

Adrien pulled his hand back, looking away bashfully. “I had an extra ticket to an upcoming fashion show that my father is having, and I was wondering if you’d like to go?”

She blinked. 

“I’ll be there,” he explained further, “but we really don’t have to sit together or anything, I know you said you wanted space.” 

Marinette felt her insides twist. He really was too sweet. 

He had given her the space she wanted. It had been almost two weeks since they last spoke in that pet store.

Almost two weeks since she told Chat she had wanted to kiss him. 

But, that was another can of worms she wasn’t ready to open quite yet. Thankfully, he hadn’t been coming around, and while she had been disappointed because she missed Chat Noir, she was also relieved she didn’t have to deal with the awkwardness of it all.

Of course she’d seen him as Ladybug on patrols, but she kept those interactions brief. 

“I... don’t know what to say,” Marinette blurted out honestly. 

Adrien hung his head. “I’m trying my best not to send you mixed signals, or make you uncomfortable, or further ruin our friendship,” he sighed. “So, I was hoping I could try and make it up to you. I just didn’t want to confuse you if I—“

”It’s okay,” Marinette cut him off. “Unless you tell me explicitly that anything you do is anything more than your natural friendliness, I promise I won’t read into it.” 

He looked conflicted at that, but brushed it off with a grateful smile. 

It seemed forced. 

“I’m glad,” he told her softly. 

She didn’t quite believe him, but decided to shift her focus back to the original conversation. 

“I’d love to go, actually,” her voice spoke up, “thank you for thinking of me.”

Adrien’s eyes widened, like he hadn’t been expecting her to say yes.

“Also, I’d be happy to sit together if it’s alright with you?” Marinette asked, cautiously gauging his reaction. 

To her surprise, he brightened up immediately. “Yes, of course! It would be so much more fun with a friend.” 

Marinette sincerely smiled back at him. She guessed it had never occurred to her that Adrien had probably been to a ton of his father’s fashion shows, and it seemed like at this point he was bored of them. 

“Cool,” she replied, casually taking the ticket gently from his hand. “See you then.”

”See you,” Adrien grinned, before waving and running off to get in his car, his driver impatiently waiting. 

As Marinette saw his car disappear into the distance, she felt like a part of her heart was starting to heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School has swamped me. I’m sorry for the short chapter :/


	24. Bridal Style

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catwalks and Confessions?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School is a time killer, and I'm honestly so glad I found the time to write this up. Huge thank you to all of you for sticking with this story despite its inconsistent updates and you’re all awesome! Hope you enjoy!!

“That was beautiful,” Marinette sighed, staring up at the now empty catwalk. 

The house lights were back on, and the venue had mostly been cleared out at this point. 

It had been something out of a dream, watching a fashion show for Gabriel Agreste with Adrien Agreste himself. She recalled the time he had strutted down the runway, wearing her winning hat, and she had practically melted that day. 

But this time, as she sat next to him, it didn’t quite feel the same. It was slightly awkward at first, but as the show went on she felt much more relaxed. Absorbed in the glamour and her own passion, the world seemed to melt away until it was just her and her love for fashion.

And it had stayed that way until the show ended and she stood up on her feet to applaud Mr. Agreste himself. 

Fast forward to now, and she was still sitting in her front row seat, afraid that if she stood up it would all disappear. 

And Adrien, being the gentleman that he was, stayed right next to her. 

“Thank you for coming with me,” Adrien said, loosening the green striped tie he was wearing with a look of relief. 

Marinette whirled her head to look at him in disbelief. “Are you kidding? Thank you for inviting me!” 

Marinette cleared her throat when she realized she’d been talking loudly. “I mean... thank you for inviting me.”

Adrien smiled softly at the quiet tone she used, and then seemed to lose himself in his own thoughts for the briefest of moments before snapping back into reality. 

“Do you wanna go up there?” Adrien asked, nodding at the runway in front of them. 

Marinette blinked. “Are you serious?”

”Of course!” Adrien assured her. “No one else is here, and my father is probably busy talking to some people outside.” 

Biting back a grin, Marinette nodded in reply. 

Adrien quickly stood up, waiting for her to do the same, before walking around the stage to a door that led them backstage, where clothes were hung up all over the place. 

Other then a few assistants who seemed to be cleaning up, Adrien was right and it was practically empty. 

“Come on,” he told her, walking through another entrance to come onto the runway itself. 

Marinette slowed her steps as they stepped onto the catwalk, the stage seeming so much longer than it had minutes before. 

“Wow,” the aspiring designer breathed, raking in the sight and very much enjoying the view. “This is incredible.”

”I like it too,” Adrien agreed, placing his hands in his pockets with a lopsided grin.

”And you get to walk on this and showcase such amazing designs!” Marinette gushed shamelessly, spinning around and taking a few steps backwards. 

She felt incredibly lucky to be there.

Unfortunately, the universe decided her luck had run out (Ladybug or not) and she accidentally slipped on the edge of the runway, causing her to flail towards the audience seats. 

Marinette braced for impact, but a strong tug pulled her up and she was lacing her arms around Adrien’s neck on instinct. 

Her feet were lifted off the ground and before she knew it, he was holding her bridal style. 

Just like Chat Noir had done so many times before. 

(But that was irrelevant.)

Marinette looked up, into dazzling green eyes and a breathless expression that she knew she was probably mirroring on her own face.

”Nice _cat_ ch,” Marinette laughed out nervously. 

Adrien blinked back in surprise. “Did you just make a cat pun?” 

“... yes?” 

“God, I’m such a blind idiot,” he muttered. 

“What?”

”Nothing!” Adrien coughed over his shoulder before kneeling down to let her stand up on her own, but for some reason she didn’t let go. 

“Marinette—“

”Can we just stay like this, a little bit longer?” 

She had no idea why she let herself say that. But, he was so warm and comfortable and he felt like home. She felt like she belonged in his arms and she’d be okay if she never left. But, she expected Adrien to say no, to tell her that he didn’t see her like that so he wasn’t going to hold her—

“Sure,” he whispered, adjusting so that he was sitting with his legs crossed on the floor of the runway, and she was curled up in his lap with her head on his shoulder. 

An oddly intimate position for their level of friendship at this point in time. For some reason, it just felt natural. 

“I guess standing on a catwalk doesn’t equate to having cat-like grace,” the blonde young man joked. 

Marinette snickered into his dress shirt, loosening her grip on his neck to move out of his lap. It was such a Chat Noir thing to say, and the green of his tie and black of his shirt wasn’t helping to get her mind off of her partner, but it seemed to help her relax around her crush. 

As weird as that sounded. 

She felt Adrien tense underneath her, so she attempted to move before the situation for any weirder. But, she found herself being pulled closer to the blonde’s chest instead. 

Marinette gasped in surprise, but didn’t dare move. Had she done something wrong? Or... right? 

“I—uh,” Adrien stuttered, “you don’t have to let go, yet. Unless you want to.” 

Her heart thumped violently in her chest. She knew she said she wouldn’t read into anything, but this was making her head hurt just thinking about what this could possibly mean. 

Was this something that friends did? 

“I... I don’t think I should,” her voice wavered, at war with her head and heart. “It might not be the best idea, considering the circumstances.” 

And with those words, Marinette slipped out of his grasp and sat across from him on her knees, avoiding his curious gaze. 

“Marinette,” Adrien started, “I—there are things... I want to tell you.” 

She raised a brow. 

“But, I’m scared it won’t make sense, and that I’ll just end up hurting you more in the process. Yet, at the same time I hate not being honest with you.” 

Her interest was piqued at this point, and she found herself inching closer. The anticipation was eating at her, and she wondered if she really wanted the truth if it was going to hurt her. 

“You can tell me anything, Adrien,” Marinette told him, finding that she had internally decided she wanted to know the truth after all.

”Not everything,” he mumbled, fiddling with his hands anxiously. 

Feeling bold, she placed her hands on top of his to calm him down, before meeting his gaze with a look of sincerity. 

Marinette rubbed circles on his hand, surprised at how calm she was acting. “Well, whether or not you decide to tell me, just know I’m always going to be here for you as a friend.”

Adrien sighed in resignation. 

”... what if I want more than that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until next time! Where we elaborate further 👀


	25. Protect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette tries to protect herself, and Adrien is no help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The positive response I’ve gotten to this story that started out as crack has been amazing!! Thank you all for sticking with me and this story, and I hope you enjoy :)

Adrien watched her closely. 

She wasn’t saying anything, wasn’t moving, wasn’t reacting. 

Meanwhile, he was mentally beating himself up for saying something so incredibly stupid and ruining the friendship he had just managed to get back.

”I don’t think Nino would be fond of me replacing him as your best friend,” Marinette said hurriedly, suddenly laughing much too loud to be natural. 

“... what?”

”I almost read into that the wrong way,” she fake chuckled, “but we agreed I wouldn’t read into anything unless you explicitly said—“

”I like you,” he cut her off sharply.

Marinette widened her eyes, but other than that gave no other indication of how she felt about his confession. 

Was it wrong for him to say he liked her after he had rejected her? Did he even deserve the right to attempt to win her affections back after he let her slip away?

”I don’t understand,” her voice wavered, “like as a friend?”

He clenched his fists and breathed slowly through his nose. He could backtrack if he wanted to, he could take it all back now and they would still be friends and he wouldn’t lose her. 

But, Adrien hated lying to Marinette, so he wasn’t going to start now. 

“No,” he answered honestly, “I like you, romantically. And... I’m _sorry_.”

Adrien wasn’t sure how to explain it to her. He couldn’t even explain to himself. These feelings certainly hadn’t come out of nowhere, he knew that at the very least. They had been gradually manifesting inside of him, until he had to face the facts after losing her to see the truth.

”You like someone else,” Marinette reminded him, suddenly moving to get away from him like she felt scathed by his admission.

”I like you too!” Adrien shouted, desperately wanting her to stay. To his relief she stopped walking away and turned to face him. 

Just as quickly as his relief came, it suddenly washed away.

“What am I supposed to do about that, Adrien?!” Marinette shouted. “You can’t just tell me you don’t return my feelings and then think I’m going to run into your arms the moment you decide you do!” 

Adrien’s heart lurched. “Marinette—“

”I’m trying _so_ hard, to _protect_ myself, my heart, from _you_ ,” she said, eyes brimming with tears. “I’ve been trying to accept that you just don’t see me that way, and now all of a sudden—“

”It’s not all of a sudden!” Adrien denied her statement, rushing forward to grab her arms and hold her still, out of fear that she’d try to run away without realizing how he truly felt. 

“I’ve always liked you,” he whispered, “I just refused to acknowledge the possibility of pursuing you, because there was someone else.”

”Exactly!” Marinette cried. “There’s someone else! So why bother giving me false hope when you _don’t_ love _me_?”

”Because I _do_ love you!” Adrien said, before his brain could even formulate any sort of rational thought. His mouth worked on instinct, and he couldn’t find it in himself to regret anything, despite the weight of his words. 

She went silent, frozen and wide eyed, like she wasn’t sure if she’d heard him correctly.

”I _like_ you,” he breathed, “and I  _love_ you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

”... what about the other girl?” Marinette timidly asked, head lowered, avoiding his anxious gaze. 

“I love her too,” he admitted, “she’s my first love, but the thought of not having you in my life anymore scares me.” 

“I told you we could still be friends—“

”And I told you I want more than that,” Adrien reminded her. “I shouldn’t want to take you out on romantic dates, and I shouldn’t feel sick when I see you with other guys, and I shouldn’t want to kiss you, but I do.”

Marinette’s lip trembled.

”And I know it’s unfair,” he continued, “but I have these thoughts and feelings anyway, and I can’t go on pretending that you’re _just_ a friend, Marinette.”

“I need to leave,” she told him quietly, and he released his hold on her immediately. “I need some time to think, and when I’m ready, I’ll come find you.”

Adrien nodded in understanding, though his heart was ripping itself to shreds inside. 

He only hoped his decision to be honest with her, wouldn’t result in him losing her a second time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about that season 3 finale huh? 💔


	26. Civilian Heroes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Chat both loves and hates Marinette’s bravery, and Marinette’s feelings cause some issues for her.

“Are you insane, Marinette?!” 

”What did you expect me to do Chat, just stand there and let it happen?!”

”I _expected_ you to let me handle it, because that’s my job!”

”You had bigger problems at the moment, I don’t understand why you’re mad at me for trying to help—“

”Because you could have died!” Chat yelled, eyes blown wide, and tears of frustration brimming. “Because I care about you, and seeing you get hurt would have been horrible for me!” 

“Chat,” Marinette whispered, unsure how to respond to that.

He sniffed loudly, blinking back the tears threatening to fall. “You don’t understand how dangerous that was, you don’t realize what could have happened to you,  and you don’t realize how important you are to me.”

Marinette frowned, upset that she was causing her partner so much anguish, and taken aback by his words.

“Chat, Ladybug wasn’t there and that child was in the middle of the street, and you were busy. You have to understand that I couldn’t just sit by and watch someone get hurt.”

The superhero pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a sigh. “Deep down I get it, and I know I probably would have done the same thing, I just—I was so _scared_ , Marinette.”

The young woman reached out and pulled Chat in for a hug, burying her head in his chest, physically feeling his body tremble as he held her. 

“I can’t lie and say I’ll never do that again, but I can say that I’ll try to be more careful. I get that I’m not a hero, I’m just a civilian—“

Chat pulled away, looking at her with a sharp gaze. “You’re not _just_ anything, Marinette. You’re very capable, I’m aware of that, and you’ve got a huge heart and that’s why I love... your personality.”

She offered him a shy smile in return. “Thank you, Chat.”

The blonde haired boy grinned weakly. ”Of course, Princess, please just don’t scare me like that anymore. You’ve got too many people who love you for you to disappear.”

Marinette’s smile faded into a small frown. 

Chat mirrored her expression. 

“What’s wrong?” Chat asked.

“I was just thinking... about people who love me, or say they do anyway,” Marinette mumbled.

She wasn’t trying to sound bitter, she had just been so frustrated about Adrien recently and didn’t know what to do. Thinking back to his confession sent her mind reeling. 

“Is this about Adrien?” Chat spoke up tentatively, as if reading her mind. 

“Did he tell you?” Marinette asked, “Did he tell you that he loves me?” 

Her partner shifted awkwardly. “He might have mentioned something about it.”

Marinette dropped her face into her hands. “I’m a mess right now, I don’t know what to do.” 

Chat cleared his throat nervously. “Well, do you still love him?” 

Her head shot up. “Of course I do, but a part of me doesn’t want to give in again when I’ve already been hurt by him before.”

”Well, Adrien didn’t mean to hurt you,” Chat said softly, “you have to know that maybe he’s hurting just as much as you.”

Marinette was silent for a moment, but pondered the thought and realized that Chat Noir was probably right. Adrien has such a big capacity for emotion, but also lacked the experience for a lot of it. Maybe she was being selfish. Or maybe she needed to stop making excuses. She didn’t want to give him pity feelings, she wanted to know that her heart was truly yearning for that kind of love from him. 

Of course there was still something else too. 

“Chat, what if he realizes he doesn’t love me as much as the other girl? What if it’s just because he wants what he can’t have, or he’s confusing his friendly feelings of love with romantic feelings?” 

“I promise you, he’s not,” Chat assured her, placing his hands comfortingly on her shoulders.

”How do you know?” Marinette meekly asked. 

Her partner grinned. “Because he’d be an idiot to let someone as amazing as you get away twice.”

Marinete felt a pang in her heart and a warmth in her body that was too familiar, though strangely new. 

And at that moment, looking into Chat Noir’s eyes, she knew she had another problem on her hands.


	27. Marinette & the Agreste(s)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back Adrienette, with a side of angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize, I pretty much disregarded the prompt here, but I had this plot line planned out for a while!

It was kind of funny, actually. 

In a sick and twisted way that the universe often operated in. 

The chances of this happening to her weren’t impossible no, but the circumstances seemed to be laughing in her face at the coincidental nature of it all. 

When she had heard the teacher call their names together, announcing they would be paired up for the latest school project, she tensed up, but couldn’t have said she was really surprised by the fact. It seemed like these things were always happening to her anyway.

Adrien had froze, and dared to steal a glance in her direction before turning away and refusing to turn back for the rest of the class. 

And then the bell had rung, and Alya wished Marinette good luck before apologizing about having to go to watch her siblings. 

And then everyone else had started leaving, one by one, until it was just Adrien and Marinette.

A scenario like this would’ve made Marinette faint out of pure joy weeks ago. It was crazy how fast things could change, how much they could change, how bad you wish they hadn’t changed at all.

Standing here in the now empty classroom, staring at the boy who had broken her heart, how did she even get to this point in her life?

”Look,” Adrien sighed, “if you want we can ask if it’s possible to switch partners, I know I’m not exactly your favorite person right now.”

She frowned, deeply. 

The bags under his eyes, the paleness of his skin, and the forlorn expression on his face made her heart hurt. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, to explain to him, but her tongue felt far too heavy in her mouth. 

So, Marinette opted to shake her head and offer a shaky smile instead. 

His eyes widened. “Really?”

When he looked that hopeful, how could she deny him? 

She cleared her throat. “Mrs. Bustier assigned us as partners, so that’s exactly what we’ll be.”

The word ‘partner’ rang in her head as leather and cat ears flashed into her brain. She flushed the thoughts out guiltily when she realized that Adrien looked so happy to hear what she had said. Her heart thumped in her chest, and she could never deny that seeing him smile made her feel better. 

“I appreciate that so much,” he whispered, “I’m so afraid that I’ll—never mind.” 

Marinette narrowed her gaze. “What? No, tell me, please.” 

Out of habit, his arm reached to scratch the back of his neck, pink dusting his cheeks in a way that made her stomach flutter. 

“I’m scared of losing you,” he told her earnestly. “All I seem to do is hurt you, and confuse you, and make you miserable.”

Marinette blinked in surprise. This was the second time this week a blonde boy in her life had said they were scared of losing her, though the situations differed greatly. “Adrien, you know that’s not true—“

”—but it is,” he spoke softly, like he was terrified of saying this to her. “You could have anyone you want and you chose to love me, and I didn’t even realize how lucky I was when that was still the case.”

She swallowed a lump in her throat, unable to say anything in response. She wanted to say that she still loved him, because it was true, but his admission was so overwhelming she didn’t understand what to do.

“I’m not good... at relationships,” the young man confessed. “You could probably already tell, but I care really quickly and a lot, but I’m also really bad at reading signs and seeing the obvious signals right in front of me. And, I’m not trying to make excuses for hurting you, I just want you to know that hurting you is something I regret every day. You deserve so much more than me, Marinette, but I’m selfish enough where I want you to settle anyway. I’m confused about a lot of things, and I’m scared too, but I know that you’re important to me, more important to me than most people and I can’t have you hate me when I really  _love_ you.”

Marinette couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t speak, she couldn’t see when tears were blurring her vision and his blonde hair was a haze. She could never get used to hearing him say that he loved her. Adrien Agreste loved Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

He was hurting, so much, and she never took the time to see that. Maybe because she was scared too, of everything and nothing, of things she couldn’t control and couldn’t see. 

She never took the time to see that they were both hurting, both healing, both in need of something they didn’t have.

But, words failed her, and as she wiped away her own tears she could see his own forming. He looked positively mortified, standing in front of her with his head bowed, body trembling. 

Before she knew what she was doing, her hand was reaching out and pulling his body to hers in a tight hug that had him gasping in shock. Marinette wrapped her arms around him and he stayed still in her arms. 

Until moments later, when he would wrap his own arms around her too, gripping her like he was worried she would disappear when he let go.

”No matter what happens,” she muttered into his chest, “no matter how or in what way, don’t ever doubt that I love you, Adrien.”


End file.
